Molson Canada has accused former executives of stealing millions of dollars through a sophisticated fraudulent scheme involving fictitious vendors, shell companies, the head of a prominent pub chain, and two married couples.
In court documents filed on Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court, the brewing company alleged that ex-Molson Canada sales director Frank Ivankovic orchestrated “an elaborate plan to deceive the company of substantial amounts of money,” which later implicated two of his colleagues.
The lawsuit, as reported by the Globe and Mail, stated that Ivankovic misused his authority within the company to approve fake invoices from shell companies, which then funneled undisclosed payments back to him and his spouse Kelly O’Brien-Ivankovic. These invoices, some disguised as “event planning” expenses, have siphoned approximately $9.1 million from Molson Canada since 2021, according to the court filings by the subsidiary of Molson Coors Beverage Co. based in Chicago.
The legal documents also alleged that two shell companies, Letz Go and a numbered entity referred to as 466 Ontario, were under the control of Larry Isaacs, the president of Firkin Hospitality Group, and his wife Ellen Bacher. The claim asserted that Bacher and Isaacs collaborated with Ivankovic in the fraudulent activities and received a portion of the illicit proceeds.
None of the accusations have been substantiated in court.
A legal representative for Isaacs and his spouse dismissed the claims, stating that their clients deny the allegations and plan to address them in court.
Firkin, a pub franchise with 20 establishments in the Toronto region, did not respond to inquiries about Isaacs on Thursday.
Ivankovic, who reportedly resigned from Molson during an internal probe in October, and his wife were unreachable for comments, according to the lawsuit. The court filing mentioned that Ivankovic recruited two former employees into the scheme, with one of them, ex-account manager Michael Conforti, allegedly generating fraudulent purchase orders related to the two companies. Molson alleged a pattern where they received a fixed percentage of the fraudulent payments.
The lawsuit detailed how Ivankovic received substantial amounts through Letz Go, with his wife having signing authority over a shared bank account where embezzled funds were channeled. O’Brien-Ivankovic, identified as a chiropractor without consulting experience, also set up a company named KO Consulting to facilitate the misappropriation of funds.
The alleged fraudulent activities involved text exchanges and personal meetings between Ivankovic and Isaacs, with references to Isaacs’ spouse as “boss” in their communication.
Molson claimed that Ivankovic and Conforti deliberately tampered with or obstructed access to relevant data during the investigation. The brewing company became suspicious after discovering an email from Ivankovic’s bank regarding large deposits from the shell companies into his personal account, leading to a series of incriminating actions by Ivankovic.
Further investigations by Molson revealed an Excel spreadsheet in Ivankovic’s email tracking the fraudulent transactions with the shell companies, indicating that over $4.2 million in Molson funds had been misappropriated since 2021.
The allegations against the defendants include fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment, with Molson Canada seeking significant damages in response.