Toronto health-care company billed Ontario, regional governments millions as employees allege missed payments

A Toronto-based health-care company that's been the subject of a number of employee complaints of late or non-payment has receivedmillions in contracts from the provincial and regional governments.

AbiraHealthcare a designated physiotherapy service provider approved and funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health is reportedly consistently delayed in paying some therapists hired to work in long-term care homes, a CBC Toronto investigation has found. Some complaints date back almost five years.

To provide its services,Abira which is owned byDaniDienaand also operates as a numbered company: 2275518 Ontario Inc. hires independent contractors throughout southwestern Ontario to carry out physiotherapy and other rehabilitation at care homes and clinics across the province. It also operates a physiotherapy clinicin north Toronto.

Since 2013, the company has received the following contracts from the province. Some of them continue until 2018:

• Ontario Ministry of Health: Approximately $641,784 (for physiotherapy sessions at its clinic billed at $312 each).
• HaltonRegion: $2,055,191.
• York Region: Approximately $1,393,734.
• Oxford County: Approximately $256,627.

It has also bid on contracts in Hamilton, Niagara,Gravenhurst,Orillia, Durham,Simcoeand Elgin Counties.

Stressed and broke

EbenezerKirubanandhas been a physiotherapist atAllendale, a long-term care facility in Milton, Ont., since 2006. As a contract worker, his routine is to provide therapy in the home and then invoice the service provider that holds the contract with the governingHaltonRegion.

DuringAbira'stenure with theHaltonRegion,Kirubanandsaw his terms for remuneration change: frombi-weeklytoend-of-the-month invoicing. He would then be expected to wait another 30 days for his cheque to arrive.

I just couldn't manage.- Ebenezer Kirubanand, physiotherapist

He said his pay was sometimes late and extended to45 days.

"I just couldn't manage,"Kirubanandsaid.

He and some of his fellow therapistscontactedDienato express concerns about timely payment, he said,but the issue persisted and worries kept him up at night.

"Sometimes [Diena's]chequeswould bounce; I would have to pay that fee. I lost my banking privileges. ... Then there would be interest on my line of credit," he said, noting he needed the credit line because of theinconsistentpay.

Kirubanandsaid he felt caught in a stressful loop of "interest upon interest upon interest."

Abiraheld the contract withHalton Region until Sept. 30, 2016.

Contracts of this kind are not awarded to the lowest bidder but are assessed by weighted criteria, the Halton Region said in a statement. It added that vendors are paid in a timely manner with the expectation that they, in turn, will fulfil their contractual obligations. York Region and Oxford county said theirprocesses aresimilar and that Abirawas paid on time for contracts.

Kirubanandsaid he is still owed $11,200 for his last two months of work under that contract, so he took Abira to a small claims court in March.

"I was so scared," he said. "I don't know anything about suing. I don't know anything about the court system."

Kirubanand secured a settlement and a deputy judge ordered the company to pay the full amount within 30 days. But more than a monthafter the deadline,Kirubanandsaidhe still hasn't been paid.

1stwhistleblower

SandraStarr, another a former contractor forDiena, also went to small claims court in May 2016 and reached a $13,000 settlement with 2275518 Ontario Inc. Starrwas the firstwhistleblowerto contact CBC Toronto.

Starrprovided documents and copies of the non-sufficient funds (NSF) cheques issued byAbiraand signed byDaniDiena in August2015, for work conducted inGravenhurst, Ont.

In a statement of defence,AbiraHealthcare denied it had ever made late payments.

Since CBC Toronto sharedher experience, Dienabegan proceedings to sueStarrfor defamation. He also wrote to CBC Toronto to reiterate that intention.

More complaints

According to Ontario's Ministry of Labour, there have been 18 complaints under the Employment Standards Act aboutAbiraorDaniDiena, with the majority relating to unpaid wages, totalling more than $50,000.

The numbered company was also a defendant in eight other small-claims cases filed between 2013 to 2016 related to contracts and rent. The outcome of those cases is unknown.

He receives an invoice every day.- Debbie Branch, occupational therapist

Debbie Branch, an occupational therapist and former contractor, saidDiena'scompany owes her "just over $7,000" for six weeks of work conducted at the beginning of this year. She isn't pursuing legal recourse.

"He receives an invoice every day by fax oremail," Branch said.

After 30 years of working full time as an occupational therapist, Branch decided to set out on her own as a contract worker last year. She said she was working 27 hours a month forAbirain care homes inGravenhurstandOrillia, at a rate of $47 an hour.

Even with her first invoice, Branch saidAbirawas days late in paying her. After another delay and then a bounced cheque, Branch said she reached out to ask what was happening.

"I contactedDanidirectly. He didn't respond to my calls. Iemailedhim," she said.

She eventually received a cheque fromRandoDrugs, whichDienahas previously told CBC Toronto he manages.

That cheque was held by her bank, she said, delaying her access to the money for about six weeks after the invoiced payment had been due.

Branch resigned viaemailat the beginning of February, promising to complete her patients' transfer ofcare and asking thatDienapay her the still-outstanding balances.

In subsequent emails, Branch remindedhim of the overdue invoice. She said Diena responded with a threat to sue her, blaming the occupational therapist forAbiralosing the contract at the homes where she worked.

"They wanted you gone. What did you do to upset them? Simple question," he wrote, not addressing the outstanding invoicein the ongoing correspondence.

Branch called Diena'scomments are false, noting that shecontinues to work at two of the homes and now bills them directly.

She said shestill hasn't been paid for her final six weeks withAbira.

CBC Toronto requested multiple interviews to discuss the specifics of these complaints withDiena, and his wife, Grace, who is the sole shareholder for the numbered company.

In one email,Dienaoffered to send the court paperworkregardingStarr's case and agreed to take part in an interview. He did not follow through, and his lawyer, JeromeStanleigh, has since written CBC Toronto to decline interviews.

History of bankruptcy

Dienais no stranger to the courts.

In October 2012, the 64-year-old was declared bankrupt with liabilities of more than $10 million.

Diena'sLinkedInprofile also listed him as president of Dedicated National Pharmacy from January 1987 to July 2010. In 2011, that business went into receivership, which took over more than $9 million in assets.

In 2014,GemoscanCanada Inc., a food intolerance management company, started acquisition of 2275518 Ontario Inc. The company later stated the deal fell through becauseAbira didn't follow through with financial due diligence.

Ministry approval

According to a Health Ministry spokesperson, service providers like Abirawere approved in 2013 after the province put out a call to assess credentials.

The Local HealthIntegrationNetwork (LHIN) then reviewed the applications, basedon criteria like quality of care, geographical considerations and financial accountability and records management practices, and provided a list of recommendations for which service providers should be approved.

The service providers are ultimately responsible for their own administrative practices, including timely payment.

"Under the ministry's [agreement] with Abira, the administration of the clinic, including management and payment of clinic human resources, is the responsibility of the clinic's management," spokesperson David Jensen said in a statement.

On Monday,Abira had job opportunities posted onKijijiand Indeed for occupational therapists.