Bondfield Construction
Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. was a Canadian construction company that specialized in public sector projects in Ontario. Bondfield filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and its former CEO is facing fraud charges from a kickback scheme related to a major project at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.[1]
History
[edit]Bondfield was founded in the 1970s by Ralph Aquino in the Toronto area with an early focus on public sector projects.[2] John Aquino and Steve Aquino, Ralph's sons, became executives of Bondfield with John Aquino becoming CEO. John Aquino was replaced as CEO by his brother Steve in October 2018.[3] By this time, Bondfield was significantly behind on its two largest projects and was being sued by subcontractors for unpaid invoices. The company was granted creditor protection in April 2019 after failing to renegotiate a lending facility with high yield lender Bridging Finance Inc..[1]
Criminal charges and conflict of interest
[edit]Following an investigation by Ontario's Serious Fraud Office, the Ontario Provincial Police charged former CEO John Aquino with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one charge related to the offering or receipt of secret commissions.[4] [5]Aquino's alleged accomplice at St. Micheal's Hospital, Vasos Georgiou, faces the same charges and an additional charge of fraud against government.[4]
The conflict of interest allegations are based on the fact that Georgiou worked directly for John Aquino before joining St. Michael's as chief administrative officer, and that Georgiou continued to have private business dealings with Aquino while evaluating bids from Bondfield for construction projects at the hospital. The Globe and Mail disclosed the conflict of interest in a series of articles in 2015 and 2016.[6] The hospital first suspended, and then fired, Georgiou in November 2015.[7]. It was later revealed that Bondfield provided Georgiou with a Blackberry that was used to share information on the bidding process.
Creditor protection and recovery
[edit]Ernst & Young, the count-appointed monitor for Bondfield have claimed that there were over $80 million in false invoices issued to Bondfield and an affiliate, Forma-Con, from various entities related to John Aquino over a multi-year period.[8]. Ernst & Young is trying to recover $33 million that was paid in a period covered by the applicable law.
Projects impacted by the bankruptcy filing
[edit]- Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge, Ontario. The project was delayed by two years at the time of Bondfield's bankruptcy filing, and the hospital had filed a 'notice of default' against Bondfield in 2018.[9] [10][11]
- Union Station, Bondfield was responsible for phase 2 of the revitalization of Toronto's transit hub. The project was five years behind schedule at the time of Bondfield's bankruptcy.[12][13]
- St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto.
External links
[edit]- Supreme Court of Canada's summary of decision on assigning responsibility for fraud in the Bondfield case (October 2024)
- CPA Ontario disciplinary charges against Deloitte auditor Steve Kostich
- CPA Ontario disciplinary charges against Deloitte auditor Felice Iorio
References
[edit]- ^ a b McFarland, Janet (4 April 2019). "Judge grants Bondfield Construction creditor protection". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Kenter, Peter. "Bondfield: as good as its word". Construct Connect. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ McArthur, Greg; Howlett, Karen (13 February 2020). "Former Bondfield CEO fights insolvency monitor's efforts to recover payments allegedly diverted from the company". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ a b Molesh, Omar (9 March 2023). "Two charged with fraud in $300M St. Michael's hospital project". The Toronto Star.
- ^ McArthur, Greg; Howlett, Karen (9 March 2023). "Former St. Michael's Hospital executive Vas Georgiou, construction boss John Aquino charged in corruption probe". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ McArthur, Greg; Doolittle, Robyn; Howlett, Karen (24 September 2015). "Executive who assessed St. Michael's project bids had ties to winner". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ McArthur, Greg; Doolittle, Robyn; Howlett, Karen (13 November 2015). "St. Michael's Hospital fires senior executive who was implicated in York University fraud". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ McArthur, Greg (11 March 2022). "Ontario Court rules Bondfield's former president and his associates must pay back $33-million siphoned out of the company". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "20 Years of Frustration for Cambridge Memorial Hospital". Waterloo Region Record. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
It's been repeated stops and starts for Cambridge Memorial's long-waited hospital expansion
- ^ "Further delays for Cambridge hospital project". Cambridge Times. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
The insurance company is now in the process of appointing a new contractor to complete the next phase of the hospital project. It will begin once the handover of the new patient care wing is complete and occupation takes place.
- ^ "Bank signs performance bond for Cambridge Memorial Hospital construction". CBC. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ O'Neil, Lauren. "The construction company renovation Union station is in financial trouble". BlogTO. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ Marshall, Sean. "20 YEARS: Work Never Ends at Union Station". Urban Toronto. Retrieved 14 October 2024.