Some 223 Toronto Transit Commission employees have been dismissed or have resigned or retired to avoid dismissal as part of an ongoing investigation into benefits fraud, the organization has announced.
The TTC began investigating its benefits claims in 2014 following a tip that suggested service provider Healthy Fit Inc. was providing receipts to TTC employees with inflated amounts or without providing products or services. Some of the products included orthotics and compression stockings and sleeves.
In many cases, Healthy Fit and the employee would share the reimbursement made by the TTC’s insurer.
Read: 100 TTC employees fired or resigned over benefits fraud investigation
According to the TTC, of the 10 of its employees charged with fraud, four have pleaded guilty. Those employees received a conditional discharge, one year of probation and community service. The TTC says it has collected more than $82,000 in restitution from those four employees. The six other former employees remain before the courts.
The TTC says it will continue its internal investigation and suggests offending employees will face demands for repayment and discipline, including possible dismissal.
Since 2014, the TTC says it has seen a reduction in benefits claims costs of more than $7 million.