WATCH: Two senior staff members at a Burnaby care home have been fired for allegedly running a pyramid scheme. Rumina Daya explains who the victims were and why despite losing thousands of dollars — no charges have been laid.
Family members of loved ones residing at a Burnaby care home were shocked when they were told two senior managers were fired last week for allegedly running a pyramid scheme that promised employees an 800 per cent return on their investment.
Global News talked to several employees at the St. Michael’s Centre, one of whom said she believes there are at least a dozen victims who invested anywhere from $1,000 to $11,000 in the scheme.
“Only ladies were invited,” says a St. Michael’s Centre employee, who asked not to be identified. “It was apparently ladies helping ladies. You put in $1,000 and you would get $8,000 in return.
“It was explained that it wasn’t a pyramid because everybody would get the same. There was no person on the top and no one at the bottom. Everybody would eventually get that money. They all trusted them.”
The Hospital Employees’ Union says it first found out about the alleged pyramid scheme from its employees two weeks ago. The union then reported it to the care facility’s administration immediately.
“Obviously inviting employees to participate in an investment scheme is an abuse of management rights, potentially coercive,” says Mike Old of the Hospital Employees’ Union. “There is a power relationship involved. We thought it was important to flag it immediately for the management at St. Michael’s.”
“We are working with the RCMP and it is an active investigation,” says Dave Lefebvre of Providence Health Care, which operates St. Michael’s. “Our investigation was focused really on the two individuals who were involved and that’s why we proceeded with the dismissal of those individuals.”
There is no evidence any of the elderly residents were approached to invest in the scheme.
It’s unclear if the alleged victims will get their money back. Providence Health Care says no one has come forward.
-with files from Rumina Daya
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