Who are the people accused of defrauding London Health Science Centre out of millions

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 7:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 10

As officials effort to marque consciousness of an alleged multi-year fraud engineered truthful respective radical could personally nett from wealth meant to beryllium spent connected keeping London's hospitals running, CBC News dug into the radical accused successful the scheme. 

A suit filed Wednesday names a erstwhile elder enforcement and his adjacent associates, alleging they created companies that past bid connected operation projects that were either not done, done shoddily, were overpriced, oregon should not person won the bids due to the fact that of irregularities. 

The London Health Sciences Centre is seeking $50M successful damages, arsenic good arsenic each the profits that those named successful it made, and each of the salaries that each made during the clip the alleged fraud was being run. 

A 2nd suit names 3 erstwhile executives and a consulting firm, accusing them of knowing astir the fraud but not doing thing astir it. 

None of the allegations person been tested successful court, and the defendants person not yet responded to the claims. CBC News has attempted to interaction each of the radical named but did not perceive back, oregon remark was declined.

Here's what we cognize astir those progressive successful the alleged fraud scheme: 

Dipesh Patel 

• Served arsenic a elder enforcement astatine LHSC liable for facilities absorption betwixt 2013 and 2024. His wage was $335,051 erstwhile helium was fired past year.
• He was liable for caller construction, tracking usage of space, maintaining architectural drawings, and facilities maintenance. 
• He oversaw the demolition of the South Street Hospital, which is present being turned into a residential complex. 
• Patel, alongside different London Health Sciences leaders, collected the London Chamber of Commerce's 2023 concern accomplishment grant successful biology leadership. 
• Alleged to person improperly fixed large contracts to Soni's companies, circumventing procurement protocols, falsifying documents, making off-record payments for nary morganatic reason, inflating invoices, charging for enactment that wasn't performed, and creating fictitious personas to conceal who was down the fraudulent scheme. 
• Allegedly coordinated with different defendants to adhd companies his alleged co-conspirators owned to the hospital's "vendor of record" list, which were past awarded contracts. 

• Since 1998, owned oregon presently owns astatine slightest 22 properties worthy astir $9.5 million. Seventeen of those properties were purchased aft 2017 and are considered "suspicious" by infirmary lawyers. 
• Patel was fired connected a without-cause ground with a twelvemonth of severance connected Aug. 18, 2024. LHSC stopped paying successful precocious February 2025 due to the fact that of the fraud findings. 
• Court documents accidental his engagement constituted "a flagrant betrayal of his fiduciary duties" and that helium was "secretly profiting astatine the disbursal of the instauration helium was duty-bound to protect." 
• CBC News went to the code listed arsenic belonging to Patel and his wife, but nary 1 came to the door. There was a Lexus SUV successful the driveway and a neighbour said the mates lived successful the home.  

Paresh Soni 

• The suit alleges helium is progressive successful respective companies that provided services to LHSC betwixt 2013 and 2024. 
• He's a "close idiosyncratic contact" of Patel's and they stock concern dealings and communal friends. 
• Soni is besides the enforcement manager of Hindu Legacy, an advocacy radical formed successful 2022. As portion of the organization, helium advocated for London to let fireworks for Diwali. 
• The companies helium allegedly owns oregon owned are BH Contractors, which was incorporated successful June 2015, and GBI Data, which did concern arsenic GBI Canada betwixt October 2012 and October 2017.
• GBI Facilities absorption was incorporated successful 2016, GBI Construction was incorporated successful 2021. He is the proprietor of 3 different numbered companies associated with his existent property holdings. 
• Along with Patel and Lall, helium was allegedly progressive successful evaluating which companies would get contracts. 
• He allegedly drafted a "competitive bidding exemption" that justified giving contracts without competitory bidding, circumventing the hospital's procurement processes. 
• Since 2011, Soni owns oregon has owned astatine slightest 43 properties worthy much than $14M. Forty-two of those were purchased aft GBI won important multi-year contracts from LHSC. 
• CBC News went to the location listed arsenic Soni's successful the lawsuit. An older antheral who answered the doorway said Soni nary longer lived astatine that code and declined to remark further. 

Derek Lall

• Worked astatine LHSC arsenic the manager of facilities between 2014 and 2023, earning $182,115 successful his past year.
• He reported straight to Patel for the duration of his vocation astatine LHSC.
• He was fired successful December 2023 without origin and is inactive listed connected the 2024 Sunshine list, making $182,115, due to the fact that of a severance helium got. (LHSC is trying to get that wealth back). 
• In February 2025 helium was told that his termination would beryllium treated arsenic "after-aquired cause," due to the fact that of the discovered fraud. 
• His responsibilities included making definite that projects complied with the wellness ministry's "capital readying manual" and each applicable gathering codes. 
• Along with Patel, Lall was allegedly "heavily involved" successful looking astatine bids by companies for enactment astatine the hospital, and allegedly helped Patel grant a three-year, $1.1M declaration to GBI successful 2017. 
• Lall antecedently worked for St. Joseph's Health Care successful their facilities section arsenic a "project consultant" from 2002 to 2011 but did not person authorization to o.k. invoices oregon grant contracts, a spokesperson said. "As such, we volition not beryllium investigating the imaginable for fradulent enactment astatine this time." 
• In outpouring 2020, oversaw the instauration of the exigency COVID-19 tract infirmary astatine the Western Fair Agriplex as portion of his LHSC duties.
• CBC News went to the Dorchester location listed arsenic Lall's successful the lawsuit. A young pistillate and middle-aged antheral came to the doorway but closed it erstwhile they saw a reporter. 

Nilesh Modi aka Neel Modi 

• Lives successful Toronto. 
• Worked successful Toronto from September 2014 to February 2025. 
• Reported to Patel erstwhile helium was hired successful 2014. 
• Fired for origin successful February 2025 "on the ground of gross and wilful misconduct, namely, his engagement successful the fraudulent scheme," according to the lawsuit. 
• The suit does not acceptable retired what Modi is alleged to person done. 
• On LinkedIn, Modi says helium improved connection successful the facilities absorption and enactment work department. 

• As good arsenic helping the facilities section interruption retired of its "silo mentality," Modi writes that helium assisted with reports and briefing notes to elder enactment to pass and physique enactment for firm strategies and priorities. 
• On his website, Modi describes himself arsenic a "communications professional" with much than 20 years of acquisition successful non-profit, wellness care, and arts organizations. 
• CBC News has reached retired to Modi but has not heard back. 

The companies

• The suit alleges that Soni's companies — GBI Facilities Management, GBI Data, and GBI Construction, arsenic good arsenic BH Contractors – were awarded "multiple large contracts" opening successful 2013, soon aft Patel started moving arsenic the vice-president of facilities management. 
• GBI was awarded "significant contracts" valued astatine much than $11 million, according to the lawsuit. 
• GBI billed LHSC for much than $300,000 successful consulting services relating to a reporting strategy called FMX that did not exist, the suit states. 
• The infirmary awarded GBI a three-year declaration for facilities work successful 2016 valued astatine much than $1.1 million, contempt deficiency of qualifications, applicable acquisition oregon insurance, and nary valid Workplace Safety and Insurance Board certificates. 
• The BGI declaration was accrued by $400,000 per year, and different 2022 declaration valued astatine $1M per twelvemonth was awarded. 
• Between 2013 and 2024, GBI got much than $11M from LHSC for facilities management 
• Over a decade, BH Contractors was awarded contracted valued astir $30M. 

• Patel added BH Contractors to a database of companies authorized to procure goods and services. 
• In 2016, a monolithic declaration to regenerate windows astatine University Hospital was awarded to BH Contractors contempt aggregate irregularities with the bid. LHSC paid astir $22M for the model replacement contract, much than $10M supra the archetypal bid and much than $9M much than an autarkic outgo estimate. 
• The model replacement was touted successful a study written by Patel and posted to Modi's website successful 2017. "This year, aft galore extortion replacements and model replacements, we had nary issues pursuing a terrible rainfall and upwind tempest successful aboriginal 2017. Investments successful infrastructure are starting to wage off," Patel wrote successful a report. 
• Since then, the suit states, determination person been issues with the prime of the enactment done connected the windows, starring to h2o leaks and insects.  
• Some documents were signed by "Paul Smith," a fictitious alias utilized by Soni oregon different chartless radical astatine BH Contractors, according to the lawsuit. 
• LHSC chopped ties with GBI successful September 2024 and with BH Contractors successful June 2025.