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Coquitlam School District drops fraud lawsuit against former facilities manager

By Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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February 4, 2025

caregiver-inquest-pay-scrutiny — image supplied

The Coquitlam School District has dropped its fraud lawsuit against a former facilities manager.

A civil claim against Rizwan Shawl and Maurizio Niro was filed in B.C. Supreme Court on July 6 2023, but the claim against Shawl was discontinued two months later.

In the district’s initial filing, they had alleged the two men “embarked upon a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate funds” connected to the purchase of HVAC systems.

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Niro represented himself to the school district as a supplier of HVAC systems called NGC Supplies, according to the court filings.

“Niro knowingly assisted with the acts of fraud and conversion and/or knowingly received the fruits of the fraud and conversion by receiving all or a portion of the fraudulent proceeds,” court documents alleged.

The district’s initial claim asserted that both men should be held jointly liable, but with Shawl’s name dropped from the proceedings, Niro is left as the only potentially liable party.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The Dispatch has reached out to Shawl for comment but did not receive a response. A representative from the Coquitlam School District said they could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

Author

Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Having spent the first 20 years of his life in Port Moody, Patrick Penner has finally returned as a hometown reporter.

His youth was spent wiping out on snowboards, getting hit in the face with hockey pucks, and frolicking on boats in the Port Moody Arm.

After graduating Heritage Woods Secondary School, Penner wandered around aimlessly for a year before being given an ultimatum by loving, but concerned, parents: “rent or college.”

With that, he was off to the University of Victoria to wander slightly less aimlessly from book, to classroom, to beer, and back.

Penner achieved his undergraduate degree in 2017, majoring in political science and minoring in history.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, translating this newfound education into career opportunities proved somewhat challenging.

After working for a short time as a lowly grunt in various labour jobs, Penner’s fruitless drifting came to an end.

He decided it was time to hit the books again. This time, with focus.

Nine months later, Penner had received a certificate of journalism from Langara College and was awarded the Jeani Read-Michael Mercer Fellowship upon graduation.

When that scholarship led to a front page story in the Vancouver Sun, he knew he had found his calling.

Penner moved to Abbotsford to spend the next three years learning from grizzled reporters and editors at Black Press Media.

Assigned to the Mission Record as the city’s sole reporter, he developed a taste for investigative and civic reporting, eventually being nominated for the 2023 John Collison Investigative Journalism Award.

Unfortunately, dwindling resources and cutbacks in the community media sphere convinced Penner to seek out alternative ways to deliver the news.

When a position opened up at the Tri-Cities Dispatch, he knew it was time to jump ship and sail back home to beautiful Port Moody.