When it changed brokers in early 2007, Atlas Copco Canada found its employee benefits claims – which had come in at $11 million previously – started to diminish to what turned out in 2008 to be $3.2 million; a drop of approximately 70 %. It was the final sign for the industrial manufacturer, which had already been in the throes of investigating the state of its employee benefits. After that, the police were called.
The final act in this drama is being played out in court where what is expected to be a 10 week trial started this week.
According to assistant Crown attorney Philip Zylberberg addressing the14-person jury Wednesday , Atlas Copco Canada was billed approximately $32 million over a period of six years when the actual claims should have come to less than a quarter of that.
"This fraud is quite simple," Zylberberg said in the statement that outlined the Crown's theory of the situation. "It's a case of overbilling and kickbacks for those who were in on it."
The alleged overbilling is alleged to have involved a small group of individuals including the company’s human resources manager and general manager and Atlas Copco Canada's insurance claims broker in Montreal, Paul Caron, who, according to the crown, handled claims and billed them to Manulife Financial.
