Kickbacks for health benefits billed to multinational industrial company Atlas Copco are at the centre of a criminal trial underway in Sudbury, Ont., that’s being billed as one of the largest frauds in northern Ontario history.
The case, R. v. Plate, which is before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Sudbury, alleges the company’s former general manager Dirk Plate, benefits broker Paul Caron and two others — including the company’s director of human resources — planned and developed a scheme to defraud Atlas Copco more than a decade ago. Plate allegedly received kickbacks through Caron, a Montreal-based insurance broker, and his company.
The alleged loss arising from the scheme is approximately $20 million, according to Justice Patricia Hennessy’s recent ruling on whether to try Plate and Caron separately. The Crown delivered its opening statement in the trial this week. Plate and Caron are facing charges of fraud and theft, according to Hennessy’s ruling on the severance application last month. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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