A Toronto judge has found former St. Michael’s Hospital executive Vas Georgiou and ex-Bondfield Construction president John Aquino guilty of fraud. The court ruled they manipulated the bidding process for a $300-million hospital expansion project, compromising public trust in procurement.
A former hospital executive and the former president of a major Ontario construction company have been found guilty of fraud in connection with the $300-million expansion of St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto.
Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden ruled that Vas Georgiou, then chief administrative officer at St. Michael’s Hospital, and John Aquino, then president of Bondfield Construction, acted dishonestly by manipulating the procurement process between 2013 and 2015.
The court found Georgiou provided Aquino with confidential insider information through secret emails, enabling Bondfield to gain an unfair advantage in the competitive bidding process. Justice Bawden described the conduct as “overwhelmingly dishonest” and said it compromised public confidence in how taxpayer funds are used for infrastructure projects.
Evidence presented at trial showed Georgiou and Aquino had prior undisclosed business ties, including shared investments, which represented a conflict of interest that Georgiou failed to declare. The judge rejected Georgiou’s testimony that he had only provided publicly available information, calling his account “unbelievable.”
Bondfield Construction, once a major player in Ontario’s public projects, collapsed in 2019 amid financial troubles. Subsequent investigations revealed the diversion of more than $30 million from company accounts prior to its insolvency. Aquino was dismissed from the firm in 2018 and has since been forced into bankruptcy, owing at least $37 million to creditors.
The St. Michael’s Hospital expansion, originally scheduled for completion in 2019, was delayed due to Bondfield’s collapse and is now expected to be completed in 2026. The project includes a new 17-storey patient tower, expanded emergency department, and additional operating rooms.
Both Georgiou and Aquino await sentencing following the guilty verdicts on two counts of fraud over $5,000.
