Former employees being sued by the southwestern Ontario's largest hospital network for their alleged involvement in a $60 million fraud scheme are denying the accusations in a statement of defence filed in court.

Last summer, London Health Science Centre's (LHSC) filed two civil lawsuits against five of its former executives and their close contacts in what it calls a "decade-long fraud scheme."

The hospital alleges its former director of facilities, Dipesh Patel, awarded multiple contracts over the years to his "personal contact," Paresh Soni, who ran seven different companies and is also named in the lawsuit.

LHSC is seeking $50 million in damages, as well as all the profits that those named made, and all of the salaries that each made during the time the alleged fraud was being run.

It's also suing three executives who it alleges knew about the fraud in April 2022 but did nothing about it, according to a second lawsuit filed for $10 million. The lawsuit named Abhi Mukherjee, the hospital's former chief financial officer, Jackie Schleifer Taylor, former CEO, and Bradley Campbell, the corporate hospital administrative executive.

Here are the responses laid out in the accused's statement of defence:

Jackie Schleifer Taylor - Former CEO

In her statement of defence, Schleifer Taylor, LHSC's CEO from 2021 until 2024, argues no one made her aware of the alleged fraudulent activity and that LHSC's allegations are a "bad faith attempt" to circumvent obligations to past employees and repay debts.

The defence statement said LHSC is trying to recoup funds for the large exit payouts it had to pay to several key employees over the years, along with spending and deficit from years prior to Schleifer Taylor's tenure.

It adds that Schleifer Taylor acted with diligence and a high degree of commitment to her role. She understood, at all times, which issues needed to be escalated and addressed with either external resources, the hospital's board of directors or other senior executives.

"At no time did Dr. Schleifer Taylor's team make her aware of the alleged fraudulent activity set out in the Statement of Claim, nor could Dr. Schleifer Taylor reasonably have suspected the alleged fraudulent activity," it said. "As such, there was nothing for her to report to the Board."

Schleifer Taylor alleges she sought legal advice from LHSC's lawyers when she learned about the fraud investigation but they did not give any recommendations to notify LHSC's internal audit department, the document said.

Abhijeet (Abhi) Mukherjee - Former CFO

Mukherjee was the hospital's CFO from 2022 to 2024. In his statement of defence, he denies "each and every allegation" and alleges LHSC only filed the lawsuit in retaliation after he sued the hospital for wrongful termination in 2024.

Calling the hospital's allegations "baseless and entirely without merit," the statement said LHSC's lawsuit fails to prove the material facts necessary to find any liability against Mukherjee.

"Despite claiming damages estimated 'in the range of $10 million' in the first paragraph of the Statement of Claim, LHSC offers no explanation whatsoever as to how Mr. Mukherjee is somehow responsible, either in fact or at law, for any such damages at all," the document said.

Paresh Soni - BH Contractors and GBI Facilities Management

Soni is listed in LHSC's lawsuit as the owner of companies called BH Contractors and GBI Facilities Management.

He denies being a "close personal contact" of Dipesh Patel, another defendant named in the suit, and said the two were "at most, casual acquaintances" when they met in 2013 and did not share financial endeavours at the time.

Soni alleges the idea for BH was Patel's, who controlled all major aspects of its operations as the company's defacto officer and director.

Soni said he was not involved in drafting a competitive bidding exemption to bypass LHSC's procurement process nor did he consult with Patel to artificially inflate the amounts charged by his company, GBI Facilities Management, to bill LHSC for work that wasn't done.

"LHSC’s allegation that GBI Data invoiced it for services relating to a reporting system that 'did not exist' is disingenuous and false," the statement of defence said.

Derek Lall - former director of facility management

Lall worked at LHSC between 2014 and 2023 and eventually became the director of facilities, where he reported directly to Dipesh Patel.

He acknowledges that he managed capital projects but denies benefitting in any way from the alleged fraud scheme. Lall said he considered Patel a good friend and mentor whom he trusted.

He said Patel was insistent on having the company BL Hanna, which later became BH Contractors, hired to do work at LHSC, and despite Lall warning him that Hanna didn't meet criteria, he hired them regardless of a strict procurement process.

"Patel also made it clear to Lall that he expected Lall to go along with his wishes. Lall states that at the time he felt compelled to follow Patel’s instructions or directions, given that Patel was his immediate supervisor," the document said.

"Patel made Lall feel that his job would be at risk if Lall did not essentially 'turn a blind eye' to any preferential treatment toward BH Contractors."

Lall insists he did not breach any fiduciary duty, nor was he part of any conspiracy to defraud the hospital, adding that he had no personal or business relationship with co-defendants Nilesh Modi or Paresh Soni. He said he had "absolutely nothing to do with suspicious property holdings."

Bradley Campbell - former corporate administrative executive

Bradley Campbell was the hospital's corporate hospital administrative executive from 2022 to 2024. He claims LHSC's lawsuit constitutes an "abuse of power" and was launched to retaliate against Campbell for a separate wrongful dismissal case.

"Campbell was not aware, and had no reason to be aware, of any alleged fraud being perpetrated against LHSC," the statement said, adding that any damages the hospital suffered happened when Campbell was not an LHSC employee.

He argues he was providing the hospital with consulting services through his company Corpus Sanchez International Consultancy Inc. Campbell said he learned of a potential fraud investigation through one of LHSC's Human Resources executives, but does not recall a written copy being shared of the report mentioned in the hospital's allegations.

Campbell said the damages LHSC has suffered was due to its own negligence and failure to monitor financial activities.

Other individuals accused, Dipesh Patel, his wife Varsha Patel and Nilesh Modi have all filed a notice of intent to defend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isha Bhargava is a multiplatform reporter for CBC News and has worked for its Ontario newsrooms in Toronto and London. She loves telling current affairs and human interest stories. You can reach her at isha.bhargava@cbc.ca

In history, we teach students to assess, interpret,evaluateand present evidence. These are core life skills. They anchor careers in law,politicsand business. To teach them well, students need to read, write, and discuss… a lot. You can’t ChatGPT your way to a history degree.

Teaching history well requires smaller class sizes than many large universities are prepared to provide.

The good news is that we have effective models to efficiently deliver this type of education.

Here in London, enrollment at Western University’s two liberal arts universities, Huron and King’s, has been booming. Not only that, but they are also cost effective. On a per student basis, Huron and King’s spend about $24,000 per undergraduate student, nearly $10,000 less than Ontario’s larger universities, while – at the same time – providing the small class environment necessary for learning in the age of AI.

Revenues, unfortunately, present a similar gap. Small universities have fewer revenue streams than their larger counterparts and affiliated universities, such as Huron and King’s, also have difficult local politics to navigate.

The core solution to Ontario’s crisis in higher education is simply more money. Ontario’s universities are efficient but – relative to other Canadian institutions – our province still does not adequately support them. Last week’s announcement was helpful, but it did not go far enough.

Money will only fix part of the problem, though. Ontario’s affiliated universities demonstrate an opportunity to meet both financial and educational need in our post-secondary landscape by investing in small-scale universities, both affiliated with larger institutions like Western, but also standalone institutions that can provide small-class learning.

The balance sheets suggest that this can be just as affordable as – if not more than – larger campuses, and the personal, student-centred learning model promises outcomes to meet the challenges AI presents.

Small universities matter. They promise rich learning environments for students and important community-strengthening opportunities beyond the GTA. Now is the time to build on this month’s announcement with a renewed vision for Ontario’s university sector.

Thomas Peace is president of the faculty association at Huron University and an associate professor in the department of history

London's nickname as 'The Forest City' just became more official after the Canadian Institute of Forestry named it the 2026 Forest Capital of Canada.

London was selected for leading the way in areas such as forest conservation and management, and environmental stewardship.

“London’s urban forest is a defining part of our city and a source of pride for our residents,” London Mayor Josh Morgan said in a statement.

“Being named the Forest Capital of Canada is an honour, one that reflects how we live up to our nickname and reflects the hard work, dedication, and passion of our community, city staff, and the many partners who help care for and grow our urban forest."

A commemorative Forest Capital of Canada plaque was unveiled at London City Hall on Wednesday.

The Canadian Institute of Forestry gives out the designation annually, and requires communities to submit a business case proving its capacity to host "a 12- to 24-month celebration of forest resources," according the organization's website.

"It is a very competitive award, so we're really fortunate to be receiving it," said Paul Yeoman, the city's Director of Parks and Forestry. "We're also really proud that we're the the first large urban that's been awarded, especially in southwestern Ontario."

Yeoman said building the case for the award had been in the works for a couple of years.

Previous winners include the Mackenzie Region of Northwest Alberta, which won in both 2024 and 2025, and the Greater Fredericton Area of New Brunswick in 2023.

Seven million trees

London is home to seven million public and private trees, said Yeoman. The tree canopy covers around 27 per cent of the area within the city's urban growth boundary, and the city has a goal of increasing that to 34 per cent in the next four decades.

"We're really proud that when you drive into the city, you really do notice the canopy," Yeoman said. "Particularly in the fall, it's absolutely beautiful."

The city also manages 290 woodland areas, and 21 Environmentally Significant Areas, he added.

As this year's Forest Capital, that massive tree coverage will now be showcased through a series of events, including tree giveaways, and "treevnings" (trees in the evening), a series of educational talks with topics like the importance of trees, and tending to fruit trees at home.

Events will also be held for National Forest Week from September 20 to 26. A full list of the events and dates can be found on the city's website.

As the designation is awarded yearly, Yeoman said London will be vying to win it again after this year. "We'll just continue to do the great work to carry it on next year as well."