Contractor Accused of Defrauding Montreal Jewish Hospital
Image by Wikimedia Commons
A former contractor for the main Jewish hospital in Montreal has been accused of overbilling untold thousands of dollars.
Gilbert Leizerovici was arrested last week by the Quebec province’s permanent anti-corruption unit, helped by tax authorities, and is facing 65 charges of fraud, according to the news website tvanouvelles.ca. If convicted, he could get two years in prison and $222,000 in fines. One of his companies could also be fined $86,000.
Leizerovici denies the charges.
Tax authorities allege that he conspired with a former hospital construction manager at the Jewish General Hospital to win millions of dollars in work for Leizerovici’s companies.
Allegations related to fiscal malfeasance at the hospital include tax evasion, rigging contracts, billing the hospital for renovation work done at the home of a former Jewish hospital administrator and false receipting.
The arrest took place in the context of a 4-year-old public inquiry into entrenched corruption in the Quebec construction industry that recently issued a final report.
The hospital was founded in 1934 partly in response to prejudice faced by Jews at Christian institutions in receiving treatment and entering medical professions. Jews have held prominent positions in its administration.
Jewish General Hospital sometimes undertakes actions that highlight its Jewish history.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
