A Quebec insurance broker is awaiting his day in court after being charged in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.
The Ontario Court of Justice recently made a decision in a scheme had defrauded Atlas Copco Canada, a mining supply company with an office in Sudbury, Ontario, of more than $22 million.
Three men were charged in connection with the matter. Two of them, Dirk Plate, 68, and Paul Caron, a 68-year-old insurance broker from Quebec, still await trial. None of the allegations against Plate and Paul Caron have been proven in court.
Leo Caron (no relation to Paul) pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and theft of more than $5,000 in the Ontario Court of Justice. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $24 million.
The court heard that Leo Caron, Atlas Copco’s human resources director at the time, approved inflated invoices for health benefits, the CBC reported. He also admitted to approving about $1.5 million in advances for himself that he never intended to pay back.
Sudbury police entered into a joint fraud investigation with members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 2008, when Atlas Copco reported the internal fraud.
The company claimed two of its senior executives conspired with the company’s health care provider to increase monthly billing and produce fraudulent invoices. The excess money was split between the co-conspirators, police allege.
A civil lawsuit filed by Atlas Copco, which contains allegations not proven in court, identifies Paul Caron as an insurance broker at P.A. Caron Courtier D'Assurance Inc. in Quebec.
P.A. Caron Courtier D’Assurance gave Insurance Business a contact name with whom to speak about the matter. A telephone message left for that person went unreturned as of press deadline.
Sudbury police said Paul Caron was apprehended as he entered Canada by way of the Pierre Trudeau Airport in Montreal on October 15, 2012. The RCMP made arrangements to return Paul Caron to City of Greater Sudbury to attend bail court soon after his arrest.
