Molson Canada accuses ex-managers of multimillion-dollar fraud scheme

Molson Canada has accused former managers of embezzling millions of dollars in an intricate humbug intrigue allegedly involving sham vendors, eggshell companies, the chairwoman of a major pub chain and a pair of married couples.

In documents filed Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court, the brewing giant claimed that former Molson Canada sales director Frank Ivankovic oversaw "a complex scheme to defraud the company of many millions of dollars" that later involved two subordinates.

Ivankovic "deceitfully exploited his authority within the company" to approve fraudulent invoices from a pair of shell companies that in turn funnelled secret payments back to him and his wife Kelly O'Brien-Ivankovic, according to the lawsuit, first reported by the Globe and Mail.

The invoices — some labelled as being for "event planning" — have drained nearly $9.1 million from Molson Canada's coffers since 2021, said the company, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Co., in the court documents.

It also alleges that the two shell companies — Letz Go and a numbered company the court filings refer to as 466 Ontario — are controlled by Firkin Hospitality Group pub chain president Larry Isaacs and his wife Ellen Bacher.

"Acting through Letz Go and 466 Ontario, Bacher and Isaacs conspired with Ivankovic and received a share of the proceeds of the fraud," the statement of claim alleges.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

A lawyer representing Isaacs and his wife said they rejected the allegations.

"My clients' position is that the allegations made against them by Molson Coors are without merit and they intend to respond to those allegations in court," said Niklas Holmberg in an email.

Firkin, a pub franchise with 20 locations in the Toronto area, according to its website, did not respond Thursday to questions about Isaacs.

Neither Ivankovic, who court documents say resigned from Molson in October amid an internal investigation, nor his wife could be reached for comment.

The suit states that Ivankovic enlisted two former employees in recent years. At least one of them, ex-account manager Michael Conforti, issued fake purchase orders linked to the two companies, it claims.

The scheme followed a pattern that saw them receive a fixed cut of any given payment, Molson claims.

"For instance, Ivankovic received $3,655,779 in 63 payments from Letz Go, each of which represented 50 per cent of what Letz Go had fraudulently invoiced Molson Canada," the suit alleges.

The company claims that Ivankovic's wife had signing authority over a chequing account held jointly by the Mississauga, Ont., couple through which they embezzled funds. A chiropractor with "no known consulting" experience, O'Brien-Ivankovic also incorporated an entity called KO Consulting that acted as "a conduit for Ivankovic and O'Brien's misappropriation of funds," the lawsuit states.

The alleged scheme involved text messages and in-person meetups between Ivankovic and Firkin's Isaacs that revolved around payments, with the two referring to Isaacs' wife as "boss":

"Boss says not in yet"; "Got it — mail or give to you?"; "Meet. Always like getting caught up"; "Love it — chat tomorrow and set up next meeting when one is landing!"

The plaintiff further alleges that Ivankovic and Conforti intentionally deleted or blocked access to data relevant to the investigation.

That something might be amiss first dawned on Molson when the company discovered an email from Ivankovic's bank asking him to spell out the source of deposits topping $276,000 from Letz Go and 466 Ontario to a personal account he held with his wife.

On Dec. 28, Ivankovic texted his accountant asking for help with "bullet points" for his reply. "The accountant assisted Ivankovic with the response to the bank, and then told Ivankovic to 'tell the bank to f--- off,"' the lawsuit states.

Molson went on to find in his email account an Excel spreadsheet that tracked his "fraudulent transactions" with Letz Go and 466 Ontario, the plaintiff alleges.

Ivankovic and his wife received more than $4,279,000 in misappropriated Molson funds from the two companies since 2021, according to the filings.

The accusations include fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

Molson Canada is calling for millions of dollars in damages.

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