As many as 600 TTC workers may have scammed the system by making fraudulent health claims, according to a report from Toronto’s Auditor General.
Information from the paper has brought to light the large scale of the investigation into the swindle, which is believed to have amounted to $5.1 million in false health benefit claims.
Auditor General Beverly Romeo-Beehler reported in her annual report on fraud and hotline activities that a “City Agency” is investigating “over 600 employees alleged to have submitted fraudulent extended health care claims.”
The figure involved in the investigation equates to about 5 per cent of all TTC employees.
The alleged fraud was discovered via Toronto’s integrity hotline, back in 2015. Police laid charges against the owner of a local orthotics store, Healthy Fit, which had been providing health care services to some TTC employees and allegedly sharing the money paid out by insurer Manulife Financial.
As of July last year, 12 TTC employees had been dismissed for their involvement in the scheme, currently being investigated by the Toronto Transit Commission.
Each of the 600 employees in question will be dealt with on a case by case basis and although the TTC predicts that more will face dismissal not all those being investigated are necessarily guilty of fraud.
A spokesperson for the TTC, Brad Ross, told the Toronto Star, “While 600 employees used the clinic in question, this does not mean that every employee engaged in improper behaviour. As our investigation continues, we dismiss employees where evidence of fraud is clear.”
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