Invoice scheme may have cost defence $90M: Multiple investigations: 'We are aware of the problems,' Auditor-General's spokesman says
National Post
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Page: A4
Section: Canada
Byline: Andrew McIntosh
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: National Post
CORRECTION: (From National Post, March 11, 2004) Paul Champagne, an employee of the Department of National Defence, was dismissed last fall in connection with the forensic audit of an invoicing scheme. An incorrect first name appeared in yesterday's National Post. The Post regrets the error.*****
OTTAWA - The Department of National Defence has discovered it may have been defrauded of as much as $90-million in a phony invoicing scheme involving computer hardware service and support contracts, the National Post has learned.
The amount of taxpayers' money lost may be almost as much as the $100-million misspent in the sponsorship scandal, triggering an ongoing outside investigation by forensic auditors and a criminal probe by RCMP commercial crime detectives.
The situation is so serious that Hugh McRoberts, the Assistant Auditor-General of Canada who oversees defence spending, has been monitoring the events for months.
"We are aware of the problems. We are monitoring both the investigation and the management of this situation by the department," said Julie Hebert, a spokeswoman for Mr. McRoberts and Auditor-General Sheila Fraser.
Neither officials at National Defence nor at the company involved, Compaq Canada (now owned by Hewlett-Packard Inc.), nor at the Office of the Auditor-General will say exactly how much money has been lost as a result of what National Defence officials describe as "serious billing irregularities."
Spokesmen for those agencies all declined to confirm or deny that $90-million in taxpayers' money was paid for goods and services that were possibly never delivered, saying it is "too early in the audit process."
A senior federal government official contacted the Post last night after learning the newspaper was going to publish details about the potential losses today.
"We are going to get the money back. That's the critical issue. We are doing everything possible to get the money," said the senior federal government official, speaking on condition he was not identified.
Darren Gibb, a spokesman for Defence Minister David Pratt, said yesterday Mr. Pratt "is certainly aware that this is a serious issue and he is aware that it could involve a large sum of money."
Hewlett-Packard Canada's U.S. parent disclosed in recent filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington that Canadian government officials feel they "may not have received value for certain items billed under contracts" -- deals the company had with the National Defence department.
The Canadian government has halted all payments on outstanding invoices pending the outcome of its forensic audit, the H-P filings to the S.E.C. added.
The forensic audit is being performed by PriceWaterhouse Coopers in Ottawa. Payments withheld represent tens of millions of dollars, a Canadian official said.
Hewlett-Packard also disclosed that "an unfavourable resolution" of its Canadian dispute could have a "material affect" on the giant company's cash flow from operations and its ongoing financial results -- a legally-required corporate disclosure that confirms that tens of millions of dollars are indeed involved.
A civilian member of National Defence overseeing the contracts, an Ottawa man named Pierre Champagne, was questioned by forensic auditors before he was fired last fall. He is now under RCMP investigation, sources said.
The HP sales representative working with Mr. Champagne on many of the deals now under scrutiny is a man named Steve Bailey, also of Ottawa.
He no longer works for the computer giant, which is conducting its own internal inquiry into billing practices, H-P Canada spokesman Rob Ireland said.
Neither Mr. Champagne nor Mr. Bailey could be reached for comment.
The RCMP investigation is ongoing and no charges have been laid.
Mr. Ireland told the National Post that H-P Canada has retained its own forensic accountants and outside legal counsel to oversee its investigation and that it has shared its findings with National Defence and Public Works officials.
"H-P did, as a result of its investigation, recreate its interface with the federal government and there were some terminations associated with the handling of the file," Mr. Ireland said.
"To the best of our knowledge, however, no H-P employee knowingly participated in any wrongdoing or derived any improper benefit from the activities under investigation."
Mr. Ireland declined to provide a copy of its inquiry findings to a Post reporter.
Mr. Gibb, the spokesman for Mr. Pratt, said the Liberal government is comfortable that the department is acting responsibly and "with all due haste to ensure that taxpayers' money is protected."
He said Defence Department and other Canadian government officials are refusing to provide details about the magnitude of the financial loss involved "because we don't want to do anything to compromise the Crown's position."
Senior Canadian government officials met with H-P executives yesterday, according to the senior Canadian government official.
The Canadian government requested that H-P put up a multi-million dollar bond pending the outcome of the audit into the company's billing irregularities.
The company refused to comply, the senior government official said.
"We will take legal action to demand such an outcome," the official added.
Lawyers for National Defence and Public Works and Government Services Canada are in discussions with H-P Canada about the billing practices under investigation and have requested "supporting documentation" for invoices submitted by H-P.
"I think you can expect that the Crown will move vigorously on this to protect taxpayers dollars," Mr. Gibb added, suggesting the federal government is preparing to launch legal action in the near future to recover the sums lost.
Illustration:
• Black & White Photo: Harry Cabluck, The Associated Press / Defence Minister David Pratt "is certainly aware that this is a serious issue and he is aware that it could involve a large sum of money," a spokesman said yesterday.
Idnumber: 200403100202
Edition: National
Story Type: Business
Note:
amcintosh@nationalpost.com
Length: 849 words
Keywords: ARMED FORCES; GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS; DEFENCE; GOVERNMENT SPENDING; CANADA
Illustration Type: P
Canada: Ottawa demands company repay defence $160m: 'I am convinced we will get every nickel that is owed to the Canadian taxpayer': Minister of Defence: Firm co-operating, Pratt says
National Post
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Page: A4
Section: Canada
Byline: Andrew McIntosh
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: National Post
OTTAWA - The federal government has demanded that Hewlett Packard Inc., the multinational computer hardware giant, repay $159.5-million to the National Defence Department by March 22 as forensic auditors and the RCMP unravel a massive phony invoicing scheme involving military hardware service and support contracts.
Hewlett Packard said last night the company will not repay the government any money, blaming six unidentified computer subcontractors it hired at the military's request, and National Defence officials themselves for serious billing irregularities that have exposed HP to "potentially fraudulent activities."
"There is no merit to the government's demands and HP intends to defend vigorously any claim," spokesman Rob Ireland said.
David Pratt, the Defence Minister, told reporters outside the Commons that the federal government has withheld $50- million in payments owed to Hewlett-Packard as the investigations by the federal police and forensic auditors continue.
The government's decision to withhold the $50-million in payments to HP and the company's refusal to repay the $159.5-million demanded by National Defence and Public Works means the dispute is likely heading to civil courts, where it could be tied up for years as lawyers battle it out.
News of those developments emerged yesterday after the National Post revealed the National Defence Department discovered it may have been defrauded of as much as $90-million in the phony invoicing scheme, an amount almost as large as the $100-million misspent in the sponsorship scandal.
National Defence has fired a civilian employee, Paul Champagne, who oversaw the computer hardware contracts. HP said Steve Bailey, a sales representative who worked with Mr. Champagne, "is no longer with the company."
Mr. Ireland said the company had also dismissed several of its Ottawa-based employees following the completion of its own forensic probe.
Though federal officials demanded the repayment of $159.5-million on Tuesday and HP refused to pay, Mr. Pratt declared yesterday the company "is co-operating" with all probes and continued to insist his department still does not know exactly how much taxpayers' money has been lost in the scheme.
"We are not confirming any specific figure in relation to what has happened with these particular contracts," Mr. Pratt told the Commons after opposition MPs pressed the government for information about the second major financial scandal to dog the Liberal government this year.
B.C. MP Jay Hill, the Conservative defence critic, noted phony invoices have played an important part in both the sponsorship scandal and the National Defence department's massive losses.
"Another day, another federal scandal, and another $100-million or so in tax dollars has gone missing.... Again, phony invoices are apparently involved," he said. "Canadians now know the sponsorship scandal is only the tip of the iceberg and the Prime Minister is the captain of the Liberal Titanic," he said.
Noting that Paul Martin, the Prime Minister, was finance minister as the phony invoice scheme was being carried out, Mr. Hill and Edmonton North Conservative MP Deborah Grey both pressed Liberals to explain what he knew of the affair.
"How in the world did he allow our cash-strapped military to get defrauded out of almost $100-million?" Ms. Grey asked.
Mr. Pratt replied that irregularities were "discovered" by existing internal audit and management systems in place inside National Defence, but did not explain why losses ballooned to close to $100-million before the practices were finally halted.
"We are in the process of taking action on this. I am convinced we will get every nickel that is owed to the Canadian taxpayer," Mr. Pratt said.
Outside the Commons, Mr. Pratt was asked how much taxpayers have lost, so they can determine how much needs to be recovered. "We don't have a precise figure at this point. The forensic audit is ongoing," he replied.
Both HP and National Defence took turns releasing new information about the massive fraud investigation late last night -- after repeatedly refusing to disclose detailed information about the investigation to the Post over the past two weeks.
HP said in its statement that it hired several subcontractors at the request of DND, which also asked HP to process the invoices for them, "although the nature of the work being performed was, in many instances, never disclosed by DND."
HP also insisted last night that despite its "repeated requests" for details about the work provided, "DND informed HP that the work was confidential and that, in the interests of national security, HP was not entitled to this information."
DND says its demand for either the return of $159.5-million -- or proof that work and services were provided -- is based on information it was given by HP's legal counsel and fraud investigators in February after the latter uncovered details of the phony invoicing scheme during the company's own forensic audits.
In a letter to HP on Tuesday, Public Works deputy minister David Marshall requested HP submit records concerning $366-million in contract billings to DND between 1991 and 2003.
Illustration:
• Black & White Photo: Fred Chartrand, The Canadian Press / Defence Minister David Pratt says the federal government has withheld $50-million in payments owed to a computer firm as investigations continue into a phony invoicing scheme involving military hardware service and support contracts.
Idnumber: 200403110184
Edition: National
Story Type: Business
Note:
amcintosh@nationalpost.com
Length: 812 words
Keywords: DEFENCE; GOVERNMET CONTRACTS; GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONS; COMPUTER INDUSTRY; CANADA
Illustration Type: P
Ottawa gives $1-million contract to firm it says must repay $90M: Defence Department given false invoices
National Post
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Page: A4
Section: Canada
Byline: Andrew McIntosh
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: National Post
OTTAWA - The federal government has awarded a $1-million computer hardware and services contract to Hewlett-Packard Inc. even as it is scrambling to recover $90-million from the computing giant amid allegations that the Department of National Defence was defrauded in a phony invoicing scheme.
The $1,041,918 contract was awarded to Hewlett-Packard Canada on Wednesday by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency after an evaluation team of CCRA bureaucrats reviewed eight competing bids.
That same day, the government hired Allan Lenczner, a Toronto civil lawyer and litigation specialist, to head legal efforts to recover more than $90-million from Hewlett-Packard after discovering the invoice scheme that had been run at National Defence for more than a decade.
HP inherited the legal problem when it acquired Compaq last year. It was Compaq that had the contract with DND.
Leon Benoit, an Alberta Conservative MP and opposition public works critic, said he was amazed that the government would continue awarding contracts to HP while embroiled in a $90-million dispute with the company.
"On the one hand, they say they're very upset, they're going after the company and they're going to get the money back. On the other hand, they're giving them new government contracts. Where's the credibility?" he said.
Colette Gentes-Hahn, a Revenue Agency spokeswoman, said the contract was awarded to HP using a selection process overseen by the Department of Public Works.
"It was done through Public Works and we were not told that we could not use Hewlett-Packard. They were picked as the winner."
Rival bidders included global computer giants IBM, Fujitsu, Dell and lesser-known companies called HDS, Digidyne and KTI-Canotek.
Stephen Owen, the Public Works Minister, defended the contract with HP, saying it "is a highly distinguished international firm that provides excellent service across government in many, many ways in computer software and hardware/software services."
"We don't have any question about the management of HP and their ability to perform for the government of Canada and if they are winning new contracts, competitively, that's fine," he said.
The federal government has withheld $50-million in payments owing to Hewlett-Packard as RCMP detectives and forensic auditors continue investigations into the invoicing scheme involving military computer hardware contracts.
Hewlett-Packard has blamed six computer subcontractors hired at the military's request along with several National Defence officials for the billing irregularities.
DND civilian contracts employee Paul Champagne was fired in 2003 and is under RCMP investigation; HP sales representative Steve Bailey, was also let go.
Idnumber: 200403270276
Edition: National
Story Type: Business
Length: 409 words
Keywords: COMPUTER INDUSTRY; GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS; DEFENCE; GOVERNMENT SPENDING; TAKEOVER; SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS; CANADA
Multi-millionaire bureaucrat probed: Former Defence employee denies wrongdoing on subcontracts
National Post
Monday, July 5, 2004
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Andrew McIntosh
Dateline: OTTAWA
Source: National Post
OTTAWA - On June 25, 2001, a tiny computer systems company called RMC Systems Inc. issued a cheque for $95,524.79 to Paul Champagne, an affable mid-level Canadian military bureaucrat in Ottawa.
Mr. Champagne, who had invoiced the company for that sum three weeks earlier, cashed his cheque on June 29 after endorsing it. The single payment gave the civilian contracts manager a sum almost twice the $58,000 he normally earned at National Defence headquarters each year.
Three years later, this previously unknown payment and hundreds like it are now being examined by RCMP detectives and federal auditors as part of a sweeping investigation into how $146-million was allegedly siphoned out of National Defence over a 10-year period using a simple yet ingenious phony invoice scheme.
The RCMP and auditors are specifically investigating whether up to $70-million of that money went to Mr. Champagne as the invoicing irregularities went undetected for years, according to documents and sources familiar with the probe.
The Canadian military fired Mr. Champagne in September, 2003.
National Defence officials alleged the bureaucrat was responsible for "serious billing irregularities" involving military computer subcontracts awarded through Compaq Canada and, later, Hewlett-Packard Canada, which bought Compaq.
They asked police and forensic auditors to investigate.
Mr. Champagne has denied wrongdoing, insisting he became a multi-millionaire thanks to stock market investments and luck at Las Vegas gaming tables.
During the period now under investigation, Mr. Champagne amassed more than $20-million worth of investments and residential real estate in Canada, Florida and the Caribbean, including a $2-million beachfront mansion in the Turks and Caicos.
His home in Ottawa, now worth more than $1.4-million, is in an exclusive gated community and has tennis courts, a gym and a pool. His third, three-car garage home in Hudson, Fla., sits on a lush golf course development and also has a pool. He also launched a company, Green Gables Custom Homes Ltd.
Mr. Champagne did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment for this story.
Additional requests seeking his comment were made verbally and in writing to Sally Heather Burks, his Ottawa lawyer. Those requests also went unanswered.
The National Post has learned that in mid-March federal auditors and RCMP detectives were given boxes of invoices and cancelled cheques detailing the millions of dollars in payments to Mr. Champagne from RMC Systems.
RMC, based in Carp, Ont., is owned by Michael Roots.
The payments totalled almost $70-million, according to a lawyer with knowledge of the invoicing probe and Allan O'Brien, a lawyer for RMC.
A copy of the aforementioned $95,524.79 cheque cashed by Mr. Champagne in June, 2001 -- obtained by the National Post -- shows RMC paid him the $95,524.79 for "consulting" work on a Canadian military computer subcontract.
The cheque was deposited into a Bank of Nova Scotia account at a branch on Hazeldean Road in Kanata, Ont., the document shows.
Exactly why Mr. Champagne accepted the $95,524.79 remains unclear.
Bureaucrats are forbidden from taking money from government contractors.
Like many documents, though, the RMC cheques payable to Mr. Champagne and the bureaucrat's own invoices to the company tell only part of the story.
At a secret March 11 meeting, Mr. Roots alleged to federal lawyers and auditors that he was duped by Mr. Champagne to facilitate what officials now suspect is the largest, most brazen fraud a Canadian bureaucrat has ever committed.
At the meeting was Allan Lenczner, a Toronto litigator hired by the federal government to help recover its losses, two Justice Department lawyers and military auditor Phillip Dempster. Mr. O'Brien joined the group.
Mr. Roots alleged to federal officials that Mr. Champagne posed as a well-connected computer consultant with military and industry contacts who needed help to handle billing and collection services for lucrative military subcontracts.
RMC would handle all billings and collections for Mr. Champagne and get a 15% cut. When Mr. Roots pressed Mr. Champagne for details, he allegedly told them the subcontracts involved a secret military project and gave no details.
Mr. Roots alleged to federal officials that neither he nor RMC employees knew Mr. Champagne was a federal bureaucrat Mr. Roots said he only learned the "consultant" was really a bureaucrat in September, 2003, after having dealt with him for a decade.
That was when the National Post revealed the dismissal of Mr. Champagne by National Defence and the launch of an RCMP probe.
Mr. Roots "suddenly felt his world crashing around him," suffered unthinkable embarrassment and has since closed down RMC, Mr. O'Brien said.
"The only solace he could take out of the whole matter was that there were individuals and corporations that were much more sophisticated than he that were also taken," Mr. O'Brien said. "Assuming everyone is telling the truth, everyone has been duped. It is astounding National Defence did not detect this for years. It is astounding that this took place at all," he added.
The series of events that follow were described by a confidential source familiar with details of the federal investigation into Mr. Champagne's activities and who is familiar with the statement given to federal officials by Mr. Roots.
They were also confirmed on the record by Mr. O'Brien, who agreed to be interviewed on behalf of the businessman.
Mr. Roots said his dealings with Mr. Champagne began in 1992 or 1993, when Mr. Champagne allegedly approached Mr. Roots.
Mr. Roots knew Mr. Champagne as an industry contact who had worked as a manager at Ottawa military systems firm DY-4 Systems.
Mr. Roots believed Mr. Champagne had become a consultant with "high-level military contacts" and contacts "with major DND contractors."
Mr. Champagne allegedly told Mr. Roots he was expecting computer system subcontracts soon from prime contractors, including Compaq.
He asked for help. Mr. Champagne said he wanted to be the hands-on guy getting deals. He wanted no paperwork, just profits, Mr. O'Brien said.
Mr. Champagne allegedly made Mr. Roots an offer."I'll get the subcontracts from Compaq," he reportedly said. "You and RMC will handle all of the subcontract invoicing, account collections and bookkeeping, using RMC as the vehicle," he continued. Mr. Champagne allegedly promised to supply RMC information needed to prepare invoices to send to Compaq and collect payments. In exchange, Mr. Champagne would pay RMC 15% of each contract.
Mr. Champagne would bill RMC, which would add its fees and itself bill Compaq.
Asked about the subcontracts, Mr. Champagne was vague. The men struck a deal and, Mr. Roots contends, that's when Mr. Champagne's alleged deception began.
Mr. Champagne soon kept his promise.
Millions of dollars in subcontracts began to flow to tiny RMC -- or so it appeared.
RMC kept its end of the bargain too, sending out invoices and collecting payments.
A series of invoices and the cheque obtained by the Post included extremely vague language and baffling military acronyms:
On May 30, 2001, RMC prepared an invoice to itself from Mr. Champagne, at his request, for "professional services." It was for $95,524.79.
At the top, it carried: "CIC &LCMM (401921) CCDI." Services provided by Mr. Champagne and his people supposedly included "professional services performed within the framework of Customized Integration Consulting and Life Cycle Material Maintenance."
Also done was "Systems Management Consulting." No detail about who did the work, where it was done or when appeared on Mr. Champagne's invoice.
It carried his home address of 141 Kerry Hill Crescent in Dunrobin, his mansion outside Ottawa.
RMC added its charges and invoiced Compaq.
RMC's invoice offered more detail, billing for 320 hours of computer maintenance service work and "customized integration as per statement of work" at a rate of $155 per hour.
Another $55,430 was for "parts and equipment required on project."
The total: $112,382.10. It mentioned the same SOPC17 cited by Mr. Champagne's invoice, but nowhere was Mr. Champagne's name. Again, no mention of where the work was done, when or by whom. Ditto for the parts.
The invoice went to Compaq, which billed DND.
DND paid Compaq's bill.
Then, Compaq paid RMC's bill and, by June 25, 2001, RMC paid Mr. Champagne's bill and sent him his $95,524.79 cheque.
- - -
Such "deals" allegedly continued for a decade.
RMC accountants did basic year-end audits. There were also GST audits.
RMC staff asked Mr. Champagne for documents showing the work he described was done, Mr. O'Brien said. Mr. Champagne allegedly replied: "The documents and back-up data are there if necessary, but you don't have the security clearances to see it. This is top secret."
Mr. Roots came from a family where security clearances were the norm. He has relatives in the intelligence world.
His father worked on the Apollo and space shuttle projects, work that required a "top secret" clearance.
Mr. Roots did not think Mr. Champagne's reply was odd.
"As curious as he might be, he understood he wasn't entitled to know about the work being done," Mr. O'Brien said.
Unlike RMC, Compaq/HP staffers actually knew Mr. Champagne worked for National Defence. They, too, questioned the RMC deals.
Mr. Champagne allegedly told Compaq/HP officials there would be extra subcontract work awarded to RMC via the Compaq/HP prime contract.
He urged Compaq/HP officials not to worry; these deals would increase, not reduce, their billings, he explained.
Mr. Champagne allegedly told Compaq/HP to mark up RMC invoices -- adding its own 29% fee for processing RMC bills -- and resend them to DND for payment.
When Compaq or HP officials asked about RMC work, he allegedly replied: "The documents are available if needed; otherwise the work is top secret." Nobody at RMC in outlying Carp talked to anybody at Compaq or HP in Quebec.
"He was obviously very clever. He knew if he chose the right parties and kept them apart, he could run a very successful scheme," Mr. O'Brien said. "It never dawns on anyone that no services were ever being provided. It was too incredible to even think about it," he added.
"As far as Michael Roots was concerned, Paul Champagne was a highly successful, highly dedicated and ethical family man. He had a lovely house. He was a very affable and dynamic individual," Mr. O'Brien said.
- - -
After payments from RMC started arriving, Paul Champagne started spending.
In June, 1995, he and his wife spent $202,000 to purchase a home in Hudson, Fla. Located at 9309 Tournament Drive, it is in a golf course development 50 kilometres north of Tampa. The stucco-style home, on a 10,149-square-foot lot, has a three-car garage and a pool. In Ottawa, he and his wife spent $540,492 buying lots in a new country subdivision in Dunrobin between 1994 and 1997. Their sprawling, gated home now includes added buildings for tennis courts, a separate physical fitness centre and pool. Property assessors say it's worth $1.4-million.
The Champagnes have mortgaged it to the hilt, first securing a $900,000 mortgage in August, 2001.
Even as Mr. Champagne was under RCMP investigation, Scotiabank lent him another $500,000, again using the home as collateral on March 4.
Mr. Champagne also quietly became an early stage investor in several high-tech companies in Ottawa at the height of the technology boom. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2004, Mr. Champagne disclosed that he owns 3,463,625 shares in an Ottawa-based company called Workstream Inc. That's an 11.9% stake.
Workstream shares trade on the Nasdaq; at Friday's closing prices, his stake is worth over U.S. $8.7-million.
- - -
It is unclear how or when the alleged invoicing scheme started to unravel.
Military industry sources suggest a 2001 audit found irregularities, but nobody wanted to dig deeper. DND will not release the audit but does not deny rumours.
Last March, David Pratt, the then-defence minister, said, "The RCMP is looking into this matter. There are a lot of details here that will be forthcoming."
DND and the RCMP have said little since.
HP Canada launched its own probe. Heads rolled.
Said a lawyer familiar with the case: "Why did nobody at HP ask 'Why are we making $4-5-million a year for doing nothing?"
HP Canada spokesman Rob Ireland replied: "It was a unique situation. No other Canadian client could credibly declare subcontract work top secret and get away with it. None."
In May, the government recovered $146-million from HP Canada after federal lawyers threatened to sue because of the billing irregularities.
Mr. Roots' documents bolstered the government's case.
But Mr. Roots will never forget how his world allegedly became unglued.
In August or early September of 2003, Mr. Champagne allegedly called. His "subcontracts" with National Defence had "come to an end," he announced.
Mr. Roots suspected Mr. Champagne had "a falling out" with his contacts.
Mr. O'Brien says Mr. Roots and Mr. Champagne have not spoken since then or after the scandal exploded in Parliament on March 10.
Mr. Roots called Mr. Champagne a few times for an explanation but was given none.
Apart from his dismissal, Mr. Champagne has remained unscathed.
Canada has no extradition treaty with the Turks and Caicos, but a deal could be reached to have Mr. Champagne returned to Canada if required.
RMC has no plans to sue Mr. Champagne, Mr. O'Brien said.
But HP Canada has vowed to sue unnamed subcontractors and individuals, saying the Canadian government has agreed to help.
Mr. O'Brien is uncertain what HP can do.
"RMC was duped. It's pretty hard for HP to argue that they can be legitimately duped, but that we [RMC and Roots] cannot," he said.
Illustration:
• Black & White Photo: The RCMP and auditors are investigating a phony invoice scheme and whether up to $70-million from the Department of National Defence, including a cheque for $95,524.79, above, went to ...
• Black & White Photo: CanWest News Service / ...Paul Champagne, a mid-level bureaucrat in Ottawa, shown in a 1990 photo. Black & White Photo: Jean Levac, CanWest News Service / Paul Champagne's sprawling home in a new subdivision in Ottawa includes tennis courts, a pool and a separate fitness centre.
Idnumber: 200407050163
Edition: All But Toronto
Story Type: Business; Crime
Note:
amcintosh@nationalpost.com
Length: 2241 words
Keywords: GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS; AUDITING; CANADA
Illustration Type: P
