Is UPEI professor Sean Hennessey being charged by RCMP?

Charges of fraud and income tax evasion expected this week against professor with connections to PEI Department Tourism

Sean Hennessey Is UPEI professor Sean Hennessey being charged by RCMP? photo

UPEI Professor Sean Hennessey, working for Tourism Research Centre at UPEI or himself?

Mild ripples of scandal permeated the spring 2011 Legislature sitting when MLA Jim Bagnall went public with fraud allegations against Sean Hennessey, a UPEI business professor.

RCMP have not confirmed this week that charges will be laid against Mr. Hennessey, after a year-long investigation. After the allegations were made in the Legislature, Dr. Roberta MacDonald who held the UPEI Dean of Business position since 2002 stepped down. MacDonald is Hennessey’s wife.

Former UPEI President Wade McLaughlin was criticized at the time for not investigating and disciplining Hennessey before his retirement in June 2011.

Several sources have told NJN the RCMP are getting ready to move on Hennessey. 

The charges expected this week include income tax fraud, theft over $5000 for cashing cheques issued to the UPEI Tourism Research at UPEI by PEI Deputy Minister of Tourism Melissa MacEachern.

The cheques were deposited into Hennessey’s private company which he has registered with the almost-identical name the Tourism Research Centre (TRC).

Hennessey operated the TRC apparently from his office at UPEI, using UPEI and ACOA resources to conduct research which he then, according to the allegations, billed for services rendered to the Province of PEI.

Tourism Research Centre Is UPEI professor Sean Hennessey being charged by RCMP? photoWhen NJN Network investigated this story last year, we found the registration for Tourism Research Centre on behalf of of 100889 P.E.I. Inc, at 65 Prince Charles Drive, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

According to 411, 65 Prince Charles Drive is the residence of Sean Hennessey.

As the documents show, Hennessey was the sole shareholder and director of 100889 P.E.I. Inc.

Melissa MacEachern was a former colleague of Hennessey’s at UPEI. As Deputy Minister of Tourism, she approved the invoices for payment by the Province of PEI.

The money, it is alleged, went to Hennessey and not the UPEI Tourism Research Centre.

The PEI Auditor General made statements about mis-handling of Tourism contracts in his last annual report. He declined to name the participants and confirm or deny Hennessey’s involvement.

A subsequent Freedom of Information request was denied. The Privacy Commissioner ruled today the Department of Tourism was wrong in handling the request for the names referred to by the Auditor General.

“MLA Bagnall said in the legislature, “Instead of paying the university you’ve been paying Sean Hennessey. So how can you justify that?” Bagnall asked Tourism Minister Robert Vessey. “How many duplicate cheques have you made?”

“Bagnall also pointed out the connection between Hennessey and the current deputy minister of tourism, Melissa MacEachern. “Your deputy is the one that oversees this. She’s the one that worked for Sean Hennessey. She’s the one that was at the university and worked for TRC,” he said. “She knows the system and yet your deputy is OK’ing cheques to be written to individuals like Mr. Hennessey, her former boss?” Source: CBC

Six months later after the fall 2011 election, Premier Ghiz removed MacEachern from Tourism and replaced her with David MacKenzie, recently CEO of the Confederation Centre, .

100889 290x430 Is UPEI professor Sean Hennessey being charged by RCMP? photo

PEI Corporations registry tracing Sean Hennessey to Tourism Research Centre through a numbered company

Despite her proximity to the scandal, MacEachern was then appointed Deputy Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning.

Pundits put this down to Premier Ghiz’ penchant for sticking by his friends despite their apparent unsavory activity.

None of the Ghiz appointees who were involved in the PNP scandal were ever fired.

Deputy Minister of Innovation Brooke MacMillan was caught in a conflict of interest over applying for and receiving PNP funds. He was appointed to the position of CEO of the PEI Liquor Commission. He returned the money but kept his lucrative political appointment.

Canadians outside of Prince Edward Island are not used to such intransigence on the part of a government when scandals are uncovered.

Hennessey was not place on probation or suspension by UPEI during the RCMP investigation. Despite the notoriety, and his name and photograph still appear on the UPEI list of Current Faculty.

This may be in part due to the journalism practices on PEI. The PEI Press Gallery is controlled by the Speaker’s Office. Members of the local media received money during the PNP scandal. At one point, the Premier was himself naming names in the media for their participation in the PNP as proof of their “dirty hands.”

Patronage is so prevalent on PEI that it is accepted as status quo. Same game different players. As they say, “it’s not our money anyway.”

Hennessey’s scheme was uncovered by Paul Lewis, a former employee of the real UPEI Tourism Research Centre when Hennessey and his wife took an extended vacation.

Left in charge, Lewis received cheques paying mysterious invoices that did not originate with the TRC at UPEI. Lewis questioned UPEI accounting staff and the Department of Tourism without getting answers that satisfied his curiosity.

According to Lewis, when he questioned Hennessey on his return, Hennessey fired him. Lewis, who is suing UPEI for wrongful dismissal, sent a full disclosure to Canada Revenue.

There are also allegations the players in this story received up to 12 PNP units. None of these allegations has been proven in court.

See Eastern Graphic – Government spent our money but DON’T ASK WHERE

  • Concerned PEI Taxpayer

    I would like to have accounting evidence that shows how many duplicate invoices were paid by the three separate account ts payable departments at the PEI Depth of Tourism, the ACOA federal agency, any at UPEI for the same duplicate invoices?

    Evidence and court testimony in the breach of contract proceedings involving Dr. Paul Lewis and the official UPEI Tourism Research Center (under the faculty direction of Professor Sean Hennessey and his wife, Dean of Business, Dr. Roberta Macdonald) should give the actual amounts involved…likely in the tens of thousands of dollars…perhaps more!!

    Jim Bagnall raised this issue in the Legislature…how many duplicate invoices were issues for the same bill and how much money was paid to Dr. Sean Hennessey for these duplicate invoices by these three government funded organizations? Why is this question still not answered by UPEI, ACOA and the Depth of Tourism of PEI?

  • JACK MACANDREW

    Congratulations Stephen on breaking this story.

  • http://njnnetwork.com/ Stephen Pate

    Thanks Jack, it was with a lot of help from others.

  • say it aint so shoeless joe

    i dont want to believe this. Et tu Brute? Is this who we are? Is this who we have become?

  • Good to see

    Glad to see you’re still trying to hold dirty politicians and their cronies accountable. With only stories about arts and technology recently, I thought maybe Ghiz and his minions might have silenced you.

  • Fleecy

    Why is Melissa MacEachern the only name being thrown out in the news on this? Sean Hennessey is never even mentioned. Isn’t he the kingpin behind this scheme? He and Roberta are on the timetable to teach at UPEI in September. Personal and Corporate Finance. Are they even in the country?

  • mel

    Excellent investigative reporting! I, too, was worried that they may have gotten you down with all the promises of greed as so many before you have fallen; or silence you in ways they silence others who refuse to be involved in corruption. But, this article is well done and well researched as is your typical reporting style, Great!
    Glad to see you are back reporting on what is going on.
    Congrats on this report!
    Keep us-the public updated- and hold those with power, office accountable.
    Thanks!

  • admin

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  • BBA Alumni from UPEI

    Roberta Macdonald was the Dean of the School of
    Business at UPEI and wife of Dr. Sean Hennessey who is now facing the 9 criminal charges for tax evasion.

    Dr. Hennessey had no prior experience managing any
    academic research institutes in business and social science and his “expertise” was a course in principles of finance he taught for 35+ years so why would anybody think he would have any knowledge or capability in managing a Tourism Marketing Research Centre? Its mind boggling…akin to having the dentist do heart surgery!! Investigators at the CRA now understand why he was motivated to do this but where was the leadership at UPEI when this situation was being given birth?

    It’s a completely different knowledge domain from
    teaching principles of finance….so apart from Hennessey’s motivation and the money he obtained by his position (according to the CRA), why would President Wade McLaughlin and Dean of Business, Roberta Macdonald, sign on to this proposition in the first place? Can somebody at UPEI on their Board of Governors answer that question?

    Obviously, there wasn’t any control oversight or corporate governance functions in practice at UPEI while the public money that was supposed to go to the official UPEI – TRC ended up in a private bank account of his
    private company called Tourism Research Center. This private business is owned and operated on the UPEI campus by husband of the Dean of Business, Roberta
    Macdonald.

    Would you continue to donate money to UPEI knowing that it could end up in somebody’s private bank account?

    Has anything changed on the UPEI campus that would
    prevent this from happening today in 2013?

    Is the stonewall erected by the previous administration
    still in place at UPEI concerning this scandal on campus at UPEI?

  • MBA student at UPEI

    UPEI professor charged with tax evasion

    Sean Michael Hennessey faces charges under Income Tax Act and Excise Tax Act

    CBC News Posted: Feb 1, 2013 8:54 PM AT

    Sean Michael Hennessey faces six counts under the Income Tax Act and three counts under the Excise Tax Act. (CBC)

    A 55-year-old professor at the University of Prince Edward Island has been charged with tax evasion.

    Sean Michael Hennessey, of Charlottetown, faces six counts under the Income Tax Act and three counts under the Excise Tax Act. The charges include filing false personal income tax statements and evading payment.

    Hennessey is currently on leave from the university.

    The 55-year-old man is accused of failing to disclose more than $45,000 of personal income in each of the tax years of 2008, 2009 and 2010.

    During that time, Hennessey served as faculty director at the University of Prince Edward Island’s Tourism Research Centre, which conducts research for the government and for the tourism industry on a fee-for-service basis.

    He also runs his own consulting business.

    The charges were laid in Charlottetown provincial court on Friday by an investigator with the Canada Revenue Agency, which alleges Hennessey owes thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes.

    Hennessey is scheduled to appear in Charlottetown provincial court on April 29.

  • Taxpayer on PEI and UPEI Grad

    Jack: The CRA auditors are going after tax money that was allegedly evaded over the course of three years. My question to you ad to the Board of Governors at UPEI is this: Will the Board of Governors of UPEI and public officials at ACOA/Dept of Tourism of PEI also be going after tax dollars and cheques cashed that ended up in Hennessey’s private company called TRC that were issued to the official UPEI – TRC?

    Will any news organization put those questions to PEI, Auditor General Colin Younker and the Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) Mr. Bernard Valcourt, MP ??

  • No Governance On UPEI Campus

    See the Guardian story about tax fraud involving former Faculty Advisor UPEI – TRC – finance professor, Dr. Sean Hennessey

  • No Governance On UPEI Campus

    UPEI finance professor, Dr Sean Hennessey, former director of the Tourism Research Centre at UPEI has been charged with six counts of violating the Income Tax Act and three counts of violation of the Excise Act.

  • BBA Class of 2016

    Puzzled BBA student at UPEI About Governance?

    People have used this term a few times and I’ve not learned what it means yet in Prof Don Wagner’s course called Intro to Business Aministration so be kind to me….

    On the UPEI website is a link to “Governance” with description of who is suppose to do what, how authority is dispersed, the role of the Board of Governors of UPEI in protecting the public interest on campus.

    It appears that the place was rum as a fiefdom by the former administration and the public interest not served or protected?

    How could a long time principles of finance instructor, without any management experience be appointed to run a Tourism Marketing Research Center? But it happened…and his wife, Roberta macdonald, was the Dean and obviously in a conflict of interest position vis a vis his activities as a subordinate…

    Why was this Tourism Research Centre not reporting to the VP – Research at UPEI so the husband and wife duo would not be in a conflict of interest position or an apparent conflict of interest position?

    We know how that appointment ended up and now the tax evasion crimminal charges on revenue that rightfully belonged to UPEI but ended up in a private company run on campus by Hennessey…..

    Alot of the facts don’t add up….was there no governance and oversight at UPEI?

    What was Wade Mclaughlin and Gary Bradshaw doing while all this money flowed out of the official UPEI – TRC to the private Hennessey company called Tourism Research Center?

    Who will be held accountable?

    Will taxpayers get the money back that was diverted to the private Hennessey company?

    Has anything changed with governance at UPEI since Prof Hennesey was placed on leave with pay (?) and his wife, Roberta Macdonald was replaced as Dean of the School of Business?

  • UPEI Class of 1998 – BBA

    Will the federal (ACOA) and provncial government (Dept of Tourism) officials be going after Dr. Hennessey for the public payments diverted to his private company called Tourism Research Center over the three years he had this operation going? According to CRA reports there was considerable revenue that should have been going to the official UPEI – TRC to cover expenses. To do otherwise might lead people to think that its open season on the federal and provincial public treasury.

  • Lonely Tourist Operator on PEI

    UPEI – TRC Travel Expenses

    I think its past time to check some of the expense reports that were paid by the Dept of Tourism and ACOA. Which public officials paid for travel expenses to Istanbul,Turkey?

    Was it cost shared by the federal and provincial officials? Was it double billed? How many people from the UPEI – TRC were on the junket? What is the connection between Turkey and tourism on PEI? Do we have many people from Turkey travelling to PEI for a family vacation?

    Sounds like an exotic and expensive place to go to and expect the taxpayers of PEI to pay the travel/vacation expenses? Were they paid by the Deputy Minister in the PEI Dept of Tourism ? If so, how much and why? Let’s keep digging into this story…..

  • Staff-UPEI School of Business

    Is the gag order issued by UPEI Dean of Business, Roberta Macdonald still in effect on campus?

    People have been warned/ threatened for talking to press people like Jack MacAndrew concerning fraud at the School of Business – TRC

    I would like to know before I join this discussion topic. Perhaps Jim Randall, former VP Academic could answer this question as I would not want him to put a reprimand letter on my personnel file at UPEI.

    Any news on the lifting of the gag order issued by Dean Roberta Macdonald and enforced by VP Academic, Jim Randall, would be both appreciated and timely in light of the CRA issued fraud charges facing former “Faculty Advisor” and husband of Dean Roberta Macdonald, principles of finance Prof Sean Hennessey.

    Any indication or smoke signal from former VP Academic, Jim Randall would be helpful….

  • UPEI Staff Employee

    IS THE GAG ORDER ISSUED TO FACULTY AND STAFF BY FORMER DEAN OF BUSINESS AT UPEI STILL IN EFFECT?

    CAN STAFF AT THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS NOW COMMENT ON THE CRA TAX FRAUD CHARGES FACING PROF HENNESSEY TODAY?

    HAS THE UPEI GAG ORDER BEEN LIFTED?

    “Is the (news) stonewall erected by the previous administration still in place at UPEI concerning this scandal at UPEI- School of Business -TRC?”

  • Mel

    Reading through the comments and I do not think UPEI can ever become a credible academic institution. This is only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ so to speak with so much wrongdoing at UPEI.

    There are also gag orders on people in the Education dept regarding Sexual harassment and targeting of females there; actually, they are still defaming a female who made a sexual harassment complaint with the HRC in Nov 2011.

    The university has absolutely NO transparency, no internal checks, just cover-ups and a thug lawyer who threatens victims of sexual harassment and abuse at this university.

    There are huge rewards and pay-offs for those who will remain silent bystanders while they destroy others. Rather sick when it involves those who are educated in our society. Those who take part are rewarded even more. The rewards are promotions to Dean (I know 2 promotions given for doing wrongdoing and assisting with cover-ups), grants are big-given out without anyone having to do the research for those who will bully targeted people; grants for profs who are involved in wrongdoing.

    ACOA seems to be closely connected with UPEI in giving out grants, I wonder if it has anything to do with the university lawyer and head of ACOA being best buds.

    The previous president was bad, immoral, violator of human rights, with his even claiming that he did not believe in human rights with witnesses to his unimaginable statements present. But, considering his actions, not surprising. It seems that this new president just fell into his shoes. He is no better and the university has only continued to go downhill.

    Someone mentioned the VP of Academics as being Randall. Something happened approx May-June 2012 and 1 day Randall was no longer in office and was replaced with the former dean of science, Lacroix. There was no announcement, nothing.

    Then, about a couple of months later, they did a PR thing saying Randall was doing some research and the new VP was Lacroix. It has been hush hush, as usual, as to what happened. He disappeared overnight and was put in an office somewhere across campus in a basement somewhere.

    There has also been complaints made regarding retaliation and UPEI breaching the contract it had signed with a student who had made a complaint against UPEI regarding sexual harassment and bullying her off campus when she made a complaint. There was a gov’t person, former UPEI employee, and others from UPEI who interfered with her complaint to ensure that she would not receive a fair HRC mediation.

    Apparently, the UPEI lawyer requested the intake officer, a non-legal mediator, and her first mediation, -it was all a set up from the beginning- to be a mediator (unheard of and would never happen in a legitimate mediation).

    The victim was refused a legal mediator and the HRC intake officer/non-legal mediator acted as a lawyer, was biased, and breached the contract that she signed to be a HRC mediator.

    They (UPEI and HRC) dragged the mediation on for 6 months while they just harassed, verbally abused the victim etc- normal mediation takes 2 days. There were multiple calls of her (HRC mediator) being biased and requests that she step down; multiple complaints that HRC non-legal mediator/intake officer was acting as a lawyer and breaching the contract she signed but she refused to allow a legal mediator or step down.

    A 16 page synopsis of all wrongdoing with evidence went to Greg Howard, in Oct 2012, regarding HRC breaching contract, biases, harassment and abuse endured, (Minister of Justice referred victim to Howard who was to do an investigation), who agreed to do investigation but then refused to give victim any updates, and then after 3 months blocked the victim’s email so she could not contact him to ask for update (Feb 2013).

    The victim passed the synopsis back to the Minister of Justice and asked to have outside HRC to investigate. The victim has asked for meeting with Minister and to respond within 5 days but Minister has now become invisible. The wrongdoing was so blatant and cruel.

    Meanwhile, UPEI continues to retaliate and refuses to stop defamation and harassment and will not allow the student access to a public institution- go figure.

    And then the news of complaints of Sexual harassment being made against president. There have been lots of talk about such “problems with the president” for quite some time. It was actually being discussed on a plane out of Charlottetown in Sept-Oct 2012 about problems professors were having with him.

    Looking forward to more investigative work Stephen!

  • John

    There are large rumblings of an investigation into problems with UPEI bringing a student, who had sexual harassment complaints against UPEI, into a human rights mediation process in bad faith, breaching the human rights contract for mediation due to a ‘hidden client’ that was kept secret by UPEI. This ‘hidden client’ then went after the victim after there was a mediated settlement. Then, UPEI would not follow the settlement. Hope the backstabbing thug of a lawyer finally becomes accountable for some of his sleazy maneuvers and all those involved need to be held accountable. Messing with a human rights process to further abuse and harass a victim is sick, even evil!

  • UPEI – MBA Class of 2014
  • UPEI Business Class 2015

    At McGill University in Montreal, they investigated fraud claims, found evidence of fraud and fired a tenured professor. So fat all we’ve been told from UPEI that all is fine and well and that the UPEI does not have concerns about money that flowed from the PEI Dept of Tourism into a private company called Tourism Research Center on campus rather than to the official UPEI – TRC. Obviously, McGill University did the right thing following an audit. Why has UPEI administrators not done the same thing and taken action? It appears that the CRA have evidence enough to lay 9 criminal charges yet not a peep out of the Administration at UPEI.

    See link to the McGill University story: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/19/tenured-mcgill-professor-fired-after-accounting-twerps-uncover-159500-in-improper-spending/

  • Fraud letters

    Just when one thinks an academic institution can sink no lower, with all the notorious gag orders on everyone, threats to be expelled if one violates gag orders, threats from those in charge along with their infamous lawyer and his threats of destruction of students’ academic carreers who violates gag orders and so on…fake apology letters, OMG

    I found out about this student who was in my class and then disappeared from school, she was a full time student. She had placed sexual harassment complaint against an advisor and harassment of several faculty. Then, not to be outdone by the human rights commission where she was brutally harassed in a set-up/bogus human rights process with mediation that lasted months, she had a mediator who was the secretary, she was refused a legal mediator but were being attacked legally.

    Maybe 3 months after mediation was over, she was downtown meeting with her advisor, working on a new thesis. But, the lawyer refused to follow through on any of the contract that they signed with human rights, except of course, he stuck her to those UPEI infamous gag clauses. But, she never came back to UPEI.

    A few days ago, she is at the police station making complaints about fake apology letters that had her signature on it, but she did not write!! It had been handed in to the human rights office where it came from UPEI.

    This fake apology letter that came from the law office and given to the human rights commission had the victim apologzing to UPEI and one of the faculty who she made a complaint against. There were 2 letters stating the same thing but when you overlapped them, the signature is the same but the typeset is different, and there are other things to show both letters are fakes and it has her signature on it. Honest, true story. I could not believe a lawyer would do that.

    So, Kudos to UPEI who just did one better than silencing gag clauses as they are now into writing fake apology letters from victims apologzing to those who were named in Sexual harassment complaints against them. I hope she releases them to the press to show the extremes that UPEI will go to in order to cover-up everything wrong that is happening there. UPEI lawyer involved in this is really bad, but he one of the lawyers who were called backstabbers or back room boys club who overthrew their leader.

    Guess the next fake apology letter from the office will have Olive apologizing for all that wonderful backstabbing he did to get her out of office. Who would even think of this? It is unethical, and so so wrong. How is this guy practicing law is what I would like to know.

  • UPEI Graduate

    Unfortunately, UPEI is so corrupted that they deal with fraud, basically all wrongdoing, by eliminating, blackmailing, threatening any possible whistleblowers. Most of those with power are involved in some sort of wrongdoing, fraud so they cover each other. It is so bad that it is the accepted culture at UPEI. Anyone who questions or refuses to be silenced will be ‘dealt with’ by those in authority. It can be a letter in a student’s file that is untrue; threats of changing a student’s transcript to discredit and fail a student or expulsion or suspension for something lawyers makes up. It was a culture that became the norm under the previous president who was noted for abusing his power to extreme, an ugly dictator who violated rights and had lawyers fight the laws that protected the rights. Professors are bullied as well. Those who are the bullies and abuse their power are rewarded with committee appointments, senate positions, and then the best of the crooks become deans.

    Does anyone know why former vpRandall was silently removed from his office, stripped of title, to be moved in remote building without title and power? Randle did and took all instructions from legal. He was infamous for putting letters in students’ files who challenged the corruption; when he threatened a student who refused to be silent, he then passed the potential student whistleblowers on to legal so they could permanently silence them. Legal was infamous for making students sign untrue statements about themselves or be expelled.

    I had heard that Randall did not want to give the lawyer’s ‘special friend’ and person who does his ‘dirty work’, when needed, the Dean of Nursing position.

    After delays in appointing new dean of nursing, (name removed) was finally rewarded for her continued support of suppressing and harassing students

    vpRandall was silently removed from office.

    UPEI has no transparency, no accountability, and when given an option to make things ethical or resort to suppression, cover-up and harming a student, they always chose the second option. They just do not even have the ability to even reflect on their bad behavior. They have never done the right thing. And those who agree to cover-up, conceal, abuse students if necessary, are rewarded. Dysfunctional for quite some time, due to previous president, who became almost crazed with abusing power, it was like a drug for him. There will be a special hell for him and the others from UPEI who abused students and refused to acknowledge that human beings have rights.