Molson Canada accuses ex-managers of embezzling millions in fraud scheme
Molson Canada has accused former managers of embezzling millions of dollars in an intricate fraud scheme that also allegedly involved the president of Firkin Hospitality Group.
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 its coffers since 2021, said Molson Canada, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based Molson Coors Beverage Co., in the court documents.
It also alleges that the two companies — Letz Go and a numbered company the court documents refer to as 466 Ontario — are controlled by Firkin 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 the accusations were baseless.
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“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.
Ivankovic, who the court documents say resigned from Molson in October amid an internal investigation, 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, the suit alleges.
Most of the secret payments to Ivankovic and his subordinates followed a pattern that saw him receive a fixed cut of a 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 couple. 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-Ivankovic)’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 another one is landing!’”
The plaintiffs further allege 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.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
The weather outside might be frightful but, depending where they live, some Ontario residents may soon get a reprieve from the snow — though only some.
Snow warnings are in effect for several parts of central and southern Ontario, with Environment Canada using its new alert system to issue yellow warnings for snowfall.
The new system now adds a colour to each weather alert — yellow, orange and red — to show the seriousness. Yellow alerts are issued when hazardous weather may cause damage or disruption, or impact health. These weather events are likely moderate, localized, and/or short term.
Current yellow warnings stretch south to cities such as London, Kitchener and Guelph, west to Manitoulin Island and north to Huntsville and Cedar Lake.
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Parts of the Greater Toronto Area are also under warnings including Peterborough, Markham, Milton and Vaughan.
These areas are forecast to see additional snowfall on Sunday, though the amounts vary. Places such as Cobourg and London expected to see two to five centimetres, while other areas, such as Kitchener and Manitoulin Island, are forecast to recieve five to 10 centimetre.
Environment Canada says the snow is expected to transition to flurries in most areas, and will likely to change to rain showers midday in several communities.
There are also several special weather statements in effect for some cities, with some, including Sault Ste Marie and West Nippissing-French River, expected to see between five and 10 additional centimetres of snow into the evening.
Those facing the snow are urged to make additional time for travel. Snow buildup will make roads and walkways difficult to navigate and visibility will be reduced.
Other cities, such as Niagara Falls, Kingston and the majority of the Golden Horseshoe, including Toronto and Hamilton, are under a special weather statement for strong winds.
Those winds are expected to begin later this morning, with strong southwesterly gusts that could hit 60 to 70 km/h. The winds will ease in the evening, but Environment Canada cautions that local utility outages are possible.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Toronto Fire crews remained on scene Saturday afternoon as a complex highrise fire at Thorncliffe Park Dr. and Overlea Blvd. continued to burn behind walls, with officials still unable to give residents a timeline for when they can go home.
Toronto Fire said they have made “positive” progress, but the blaze remains extremely difficult to access.
Acting Division Commander Robert Houston said firefighters have been “actively fighting a stubborn fire” for more than 48 hours and that early in the response they discovered “high levels of carbon monoxide throughout the building.”
All 408 units across the two towers were evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
The Red Cross is providing emergency assistance, delivering accommodations and food for 117 households and 239 people as of Saturday morning.
Officials said residents were moved from an initial hub into hotels.
One of those displaced is single mother Mohamee Muhammad, now staying with her daughter at a hotel in the Don Valley.
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They have been provided a card to buy meals but only have guaranteed accommodation until Dec. 2.
“You have to take it one day at a time,” Muhammad told Global News.
Her daughter Aisha learned about the fire from her school principal.
“I just hope we can go home back soon,” she said, adding the experience is deeply disruptive. “I wasn’t expecting this. I just thought it would be a normal day until I got the call.” She was permitted to briefly enter to retrieve her school supplies.
Another resident, Nihal Sheikh, said his wife called him while he was at work to say the building was being evacuated. They have a two-month-old and two other young children.
“Things happened suddenly,” he said. “It was so chaotic.”
He said responders escorted him upstairs to retrieve medications and diapers. “We don’t know what’s going on… we are just getting updates from fire department and police.”
Houston said temperatures and carbon monoxide levels have “successfully lowered,” but crews still “do not have eyes on the fire… just behind walls,” relying instead on heat readings and air monitoring.
He confirmed “there is no timeline” for when residents can return. “We just can’t see. We’re in the middle of trying to mitigate the situation.”
Earlier on Friday, Fire Chief Jim Jessop said the blaze is being fuelled by insulation burning “slowly” between the walls of both towers, creating “high levels of carbon monoxide” due to “incomplete combustion.” Crews had recorded readings of 850 parts per million, a life-threatening level.
Jessop said he expects it to be a “prolonged event,” with no estimate on when it will be brought under control. Once it is, it will still take firefighters another 24 hours to ensure there are no flare-ups.
Crews were first called around 1:30 p.m. Thursday to reports of “light smoke” on multiple floors at 11 Thorncliffe Park Dr., before the fire spread into the adjacent building at 21 Overlea Blvd.
City officials thanked emergency responders and urged any remaining displaced residents to contact the Red Cross, saying, “The most important thing is that everybody in this community is safe.”
– With files from Gabby Rodriguez
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Broccoli florets sold under the Your Fresh Market brand are being recalled across several provinces due to possible Salmonella contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.
The CFIA issued the recall Friday for packaged broccoli florets distributed in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
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Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and dispose of the product or return it to the place of purchase. The agency says the product should not be eaten, sold, served or distributed.
Food contaminated with Salmonella may look and smell normal but can still cause illness.
Symptoms can include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Young children, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness.
The CFIA says anyone who believes they became sick after eating the product should contact a health-care provider.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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