The South Asian Centre of Windsor alleges that its former president “wrongfully” withdrew funds meant for the charity in an $850,000 lawsuit that also accuses a former city councillor of wrongdoing.
A statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice this month alleges Sushil Jain, who resigned his presidency in April 2023, “knowingly and wrongfully opened bank accounts, applied for grants on the SACW’s behalf, withdrew grant money” paid to the organization, and retained and used credit cards in the organization’s name.
The claim also alleges Jain kept the organization’s property, including a laptop and cellphone.
Jain’s actions, the court document alleges, resulted in financial and reputational loss to the South Asian Centre of Windsor.
The claim also alleges that Jeewen Gill, the organization’s former treasurer and a former city councillor, “acted negligently and breached his fiduciary duty” to the South Asian Centre.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
Jain, who was arrested by Windsor police in February and criminally charged, could not be reached for comment.
In a phone call with the Star on Tuesday, Gill said he had not seen the court document and was not aware of the lawsuit.
“Once I see the paperwork, I will take action accordingly,” Gill said, adding, “I didn’t take a penny from them.”
Gill declined to comment further until he had received the statement of claim.
The court document alleges Jain opened bank accounts with the Bank of Montreal and Toronto-Dominion Bank in the South Asian Centre’s name, deposited grant funds into one of those accounts, and made withdrawals without keeping records in the organization’s books.
In August of last year, the South Asian Centre filed a complaint with the Windsor Police Service. Within days, police obtained judicial orders for the bank statements and submitted them for forensic analysis, the court document stated.
Windsor police arrested 81-year-old Jain in February for allegedly stealing more than $362,000 from the organization. Charged with fraud over $5,000, laundering the proceeds of crime, and possession of property obtained by crime, his matter is currently before the courts.
The statement of claim lists several incidences in which grant money awarded to the South Asian Centre was apparently not deposited in any of its known bank accounts, all of which are with Windsor Family Credit Union.
According to the court document, the organization’s financial statements disclose that Jain paid himself more than $19,000 in “consultancy fees,” drawn by cheques from the organization’s WFCU account for grants.
“The board never approved the payments of these fees,” the statement of claim said, and Jain “violated SACW’s bylaw prohibiting board members from receiving remuneration for any work with SACW.”
The court document claims both Jain and Gill refused to co-operate or did not respond to requests to co-operate with the South Asian Centre, its legal counsel, and its new president when they asked for bank statements, and invoices and receipts relating to grant funding.
“Gill knew, or ought to have known, that SACW would and did rely on his role as an officer and director to provide reasonable oversight, identify financial irregularities and safeguard SACW’s money,” the statement of claim alleges.
Gill represented Windsor’s Ward 7 as a city councillor from Oct. 2020 to Nov. 2022.
David Robins, with Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP, is representing the South Asian Centre of Windsor. He told the Star the alleged misappropriation of funds has had a “significant” impact on his client.
“They’ve had some grant funders who require reports on how the grants that have been awarded to the South Asian Centre have been utilized,” Robins said.
“There are some grants for which they can’t account for the money because the money was never deposited in the South Asian Centre’s bank account. That’s created some problems in their relationships with some of those grant funders.”
The court document alleges the organization has “suffered damages, including financial losses, a deprivation of charitable funding and loss of reputation.
“Grant providers have lost confidence in SACW’s ability to maintain its finances and are rejecting SACW’s grant applications.”
In a written statement on Tuesday, Fazle Baki, the South Asian Association’s current president, said they have “implemented necessary financial controls to prevent future misconduct and are committed to recovering the missing funds to ensure SACW can continue providing essential services and programming for our community.”
The centre, a registered charity, was established in 1986 to “promote, preserve and enhance the cultural values and identity” of South Asians living in the region. The charity also aims to help South Asians “integrate into the Canadian way of life.”