Hamilton cop blamed daughter, 12, for false benefit claims
Sgt. Jason Howard suspended with pay since April 2014
A 16-year veteran of Hamilton police pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct charges Tuesday for filing over a dozen false benefit claims and then blaming his 12-year-old daughter for the misconduct when he got caught.
Sgt. Jason Howard pleaded guilty at a Police Services Act hearing at police headquarters just after 10 a.m.
According to an agreed statement of facts in the case, Howard attempted to scam Manulife Financial out of $960 through a series of false benefit claims for physiotherapy and chiropractic services for both himself and his family.
Manulife's electronic records revealed that Howard submitted over a dozen online claims in 2013 that were either fake, doubled, or for cancelled appointments.
After Manulife launched an investigation and confronted Howard about the discrepancies, the former Division 3 beat manager blamed his 12-year-old daughter for the false claims — and some of those were appointments he had listed under her name that never happened.
"Howard stated that his 12-year-old daughter had told him on the prior weekend that she had submitted the false claims," hearing documents read. "He advised that he had shared his password for the Manulife website with her and [she] had made the claims without his knowledge or approval."
The officer told a Manulife investigator that he had "disciplined" his daughter, and apologized for the mistake before offering to pay back the funds.
"This explanation would later be proven to be false," hearing documents read.
Howard did, however, pay back the $960. According to the Ontario Sunshine list, Howard made $110,511 in 2013 and $105,073 last year.
After the hearing, Howard's lawyer Bernard Cummins told reporters that though the situation might "appear ugly," there is an explanation he will present at a sentencing hearing in October. Until then, Howard remains suspended with pay, as is mandatory for police services in Ontario.
Cummins said he "fundamentally disagrees" with his client being forced to "languish at home" when he could be at work. "We don't want our client to be suspended with pay. We want him working," Cummins said. "This officer could and should be working.
"People make mistakes in their lives, and that doesn't mean that their whole career needs to be thrown down the sewer."
Criminal charges of fraud under $5,000 connected with the incident have been dropped. Other police act charges of discreditable conduct and insubordination in the case are expected to be withdrawn.
Howard returns for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 5. He is one of 12 Hamilton police officers who are currently suspended.