Niagara Regional Police investigating DSBN’S fraud claims against former CIO
Matter has been reported to force’s central fraud unit
Niagara Regional Police (NRP) are investigating claims by District School Board of Niagara that millions of dollars were lost or redirected from the board over a period of years.
DSBN recently filed a $4.2-million lawsuit against its former chief information officer, his wife and several of his associates, including another former school board employee.
The school board filed the lawsuit with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Waterloo Region, alleging that former CIO Dino Miele was involved in a multi-year scheme that resulted in $2.24 million being lost or
redirected from the board to businesses that financially benefited Miele.
His wife, Peggy Miele, and several associates, including Alex Hagopian, Dave Robitaille and David D’angelo, are also listed as defendants in the ongoing civil suit.
Stephen J. Moreau of Toronto-based law firm Cavalluzzo LLP, who represents the Mieles, said his clients intend to defend the case vigorously. Gary Enskat, a lawyer representing Robitaille, said his client is confident that he has done nothing wrong and said the facts support that position.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Asked if any criminal charges are pending, DSBN chief communications officer Kim Sweeney referred Niagara This Week to police, saying any criminal charges related to the case would fall under the purview of police.
Stephanie Sabourin, corporate communications manager with the NRP, said the matter has been reported to its central fraud unit.
“As the investigation is ongoing and charges have not been laid, at this time we are unable to provide further information to preserve the integrity of the investigation,” she said.
Sweeney said she couldn’t comment further on the case.
“As this matter is an ongoing lawsuit before the courts, I am unable to provide any comments at this time.”
In the statement of claim, filed in September 2020, DSBN alleges Dino, in his capacity as chief information officer with the board, submitted fraudulent invoices for an unregistered business, Digital Computer Products (DCP), which appeared to be owned by Hagopian, a fellow DSBN employee who has since resigned.
The suit also claims Dino created several businesses of his own that he allegedly used to redirect funds meant for the school board to businesses that financially benefitted him, including Connect Education, Spark Niagara and Spark Technical Academy, as well as a company known as Digital Active Point (DAP), all of which have Dino listed as an owner. Robitaille, a former IBM employee, is a co-founder of Spark Niagara, a startup business incubator in downtown Niagara Falls, and D’angelo held a director role there.
In fall 2019, Spark Niagara — along with the City of Niagara Falls and Ryerson University — received nearly $3 million from Feddev Ontario to establish the Niagara Falls Ryerson Innovation Hub, a business incubator for tech-based startups in the city or those looking to move to the city to grow and scale their business.
Attempts to reach someone at Spark Niagara via emails and phone messages were unsuccessful.
An outside forensic investigation concluded the school board suffered losses exceeding $2.24 million as a result of the alleged schemes.
DSBN is seeking $3 million in damages, $700,000 for the cost of the financial investigation and $500,000 in punitive damages.
As it stands, the case is currently in the discovery phase where evidence between the two sides is being shared, with no further public court dates scheduled as of publication.