CALGARY -- A private health care company, which closed three Alberta clinics this week leaving workers and contractors in the lurch, is now being sued by ATB Financial for millions in unpaid loans.

PrimeCARE Health, which operated three clinics in Calgary, Carstairs and Grande Prairie, announced on its website Monday it would be permanently closing all of its locations, effective immediately.

In a lawsuit filed this week, ATB Financial claims $7,339,316.42 in loans from all three locations.

The statement of claim alleges the owners had been "experiencing financial issues for the past several months and have been unable to meet their obligations to ATB" as the payments were coming due.

ATB also says it had attempted multiple times to contact PrimeCARE for payment, but those requests went unanswered.

"The Borrowers and the Personal Guarantors have refused, failed, neglected, or been unable to pay the Outstanding Indebtedness within the notice period set out in the Demands," according to the lawsuit.

The owner of the Calgary clinic, Dr. Femi Adekeye, sent his employees a message on Monday announcing the closure, and promised to pay outstanding salaries by Jan. 17.

At the time, Adekeye told CTV News, "Businesses close all the time. This is a private business, I'm not sure I want to get into this."

He has been named personally as a defendant in the ATB lawsuit.

Calls to him Friday have not have been returned.

ATB has declined CTV News' requests for comment on the case.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.



