An investigative report by the Hamilton Spectator's Grant Lafleche ( cited below ) offers a cautionary tale to a wide range of Directors.

That's about one implication of unproven/so far merely alleged use of IDENTITY THEFT to create totally non-existent employment payables falsely linked to non-involved / non conspiratorial third party strangers.

The Hamilton Spectator article was reprinted in yesterday's ( July 23/22 ) Insight section of the Toronto Star which shares ownership by investor group NordStar Capital LP.

Available otherwise by paid subscription, the article contains or reports so-far-unproven allegations of certain civil wrondoings .

The merely alleged wrongdoings are now the subject of formal civil litigation against the estate of the former "executive director" of a Hamilton Mountain 123 suite retirement home.

Not specified is any litigation role by any insurer under a fidelity insurance policy.

Criminal charges have been precluded by the death of the dismissed 53 year old, longtime "executive director" in early April. His death occurred 3 months after his dismissal by the not-for profit's Board of Directors on initial grounds other than what is now alleged to be "ghost employee" fraud.

Whether or not the unproven allegations & grounds are valid, the Jan 4/22 dismissal appears to have caught the longtime executive director "flat-footed".

Relying on whatever ( litigation ) sources plus a KPMG emergency forensic audit, the article claims that 30 minutes after the ( surprise ) dismissal the organization received back-dated RESIGNATION LETTERS purporting to have been sent electronically by two staff members claimed employed respectively since 2007 and 2008. BUT . . .

The resignations allegedly DID NOT ORIGINATE from the purported resignationers - two long-inactive nursing registrants living in other communities and who claim to have NEVER been employed by the organization in any way at all.

( One - payrolled as a fulltimer even claimed doing nursing overtime - is 84 ! The other reports being disabled from nursing by a 2007 accident. The KPMG emergency forensic audit would later point to these being declared payrolled over $ 1 M during the seven years ending Jan 2022 ! - just the record retention period ? )

AND next within a short time new ( ORPHAN ) PAYSTUBS and new (ORPHAN ) PAYCHEQUES - associated with the alleged resignors - would come to light. Allegedly these ( payroll ) software-generated stubs could no longer be "stick-handled". Nor the payment cheques / whatevers magically deposited into the same private account.

Of course not purporting to validate the civil allegations, the Hamilton Spectator article diligently discusses the potential for IDENTITY THEFT in turning total strangers' identities into "ghost employee" fraud.

Without necessarily such actually being the situations here since 2007 & 2008, one expert had surprisingly NOT been aware of IDENTITY THEFT being used to CREATE AND MAINTAIN bogus payroll records. Remember : that's where the real human being behind a "ghost" employee position, had zero blameworthy participation nor any knowledge whatever !

Reportedly NOT PICKED UP IN FOUR AUDITS 2015-2021 :

1 The implications of the former executive director's preliminary & secretive gate-keeping of all paystubs before distributions - albeit generated by payroll programs .

2 - Did anyone see workers never employed nor onsite to be seen, such over the seven years between 2015 and late 2021 ? With gross payouts of $570,000 each ? And could a now 84 year old have worked $ 13,000 in nursing care overtime in 2015 ?

Even with a 24 hour workforce of 29 fulltimers and 73 part-timers, would the alleged fulltimers be unnoticed by anyone else since 2007 and 2008 ? No resident care records nor inputs at all ?

3 - NO CRA Canada Revenue Agency employee data generation ?

The article cites KPMG that the payroll somehow had "blocked" - what's that mean ? - federal and provincial deductions ! What about the typical generation of employment tax statements, WSIB, group insurance forms, others . . ? And for a decade and a half ?

4 - A very curious but verifiable common ( cheque ) depositary routing : ONE SINGLE depositary routing for the NOW-SUSPECT paycheques supposedly paid to three different employees from three different non-local communities.

Remember that all these are MERELY so-far unproven civil allegations & claims

and finally : The article addresses the usual biggest question : How was the alleged wrongdoing discovered ? Given the intended grounds of dismissal by the N-F-P Board was catching this only a fluke ? Well worth reading it . . .

THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ARTICLE :

( July 23/22 Toronto Star Insight Section IN ) “Ghosts in the Villa” by Grant Lafleche (Hamilton Spectator ) requires online access by subscription
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2022/07/18/hamilton-villa-italia-fraud-pat- mostacci.html