Ex-employees ask how convicted fraudster obtained pandemic support while their wages went unpaid

More than a dozen former employees of Rob Roche, a Canadian businessman with a controversial past, say they are owed thousands in wages. It is the latest issue for a man with a globe-spanning pattern of debt and deceit that stretches back 30 years, a CBC News investigation has learned.

The 63-year-old Roche has made a career out of taking control of struggling businesses and stripping their assets, earning himself the nickname "The Liquidator," after he shut down a chain of 29 discount stores in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the mid-1990s, throwing 400 people out of work. 

Court records and media coverage from B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, the U.K., France and Germany also show a trail of unpaid wages and debts, and reveal that over the course of the 1990s and early 2000s, Roche was convicted of fraud on four different occasions, serving more than a year in jail.

The latest controversy surrounds Roche's current venture, Viridis AntisepticPro, a Toronto-based reseller of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and cleaning supplies. Former workers say turnover was high and getting paid was difficult. Paydays were frequently missed, and when remuneration did come, it was in the form of e-transfers from Roche's personal email, often for only a portion of what was owed. 

"I just wanted to be paid. All of us just wanted to be paid," said Hayley O'Brien, who managed the company's social media accounts and helped recruit new employees during the spring and summer of 2021. "I think a lot of us pushed some of the behaviour aside because we were desperate for a job."

O'Brien, 23, estimates she is owed at least $1,500, but has found it hard to arrive at an exact figure since the company didn't provide pay stubs or a record of employment after she quit. 

Ontario's Ministry of Labour confirmed it has logged 14 wage complaints against the company since April 2021, and has so far issued 12 payment orders. One case was dropped and another remains under investigation.

Kevin Li, a web developer who built the company's site and managed its IT, said he was paid for only half of the eight weeks he worked for Roche, estimating he is owed between $3,000 and $4,000. It was the 26-year-old's second post-university job.

"For a new graduate, it was quite a big situation, and without any warning.… I had trouble paying my rent," said Li. "And for my colleagues who had families, it was an even bigger challenge."

Li said he kept pressing Roche for payment, only to be put off with excuses about paperwork and banking snafus. When he persisted, he was abruptly fired. 

After CBC News first approached Roche for comment in early December, he filed a $164,000 defamation and breach of contract suit against O'Brien in Ontario Superior Court. She has engaged a lawyer and is seeking to have the case dropped.

The payment issues arose at a time when AntisepticPro and other Roche-owned companies were receiving financial support from the provincial and federal governments to the tune of at least $85,000. New hires were routinely instructed to apply for wage subsidies from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Skills and Training Development via a private employment services firm, VPI Working Solutions, according to employees who spoke to CBC News.

AntisepticPro confirmed it received $16,000 in grants for seven employees.

Another company, Viridis Property Management Corp., received a $20,000 Ontario COVID-19 small business grant, while a third firm, Beagle AI Inc., which offers artificial intelligence software that scans legal documents for potential problems, appears to have received Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) support throughout the pandemic.