A second Mississauga funeral home may be shut down for alleged shoddy business practices, this one owned by the brother of the man behind a popular funeral home chain accused of cutting corners during embalmings.

Lee Funeral Home is at risk of losing its licence over accusations of unpaid debts to suppliers and the city. The situation is of such concern that it spurred Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion to intervene.

The long-time family-owned funeral parlour, a mainstay in the historic community of Streetsville for nearly 80 years, changed hands in August 2012.

The new owner, Roy Benipersaud, is accusing the provincial regulator of “maliciously” trying to run him out of business at the same time as it’s trying to shut down Benisasia Funeral Home, which is run by Benipersaud’s brother and sister-in-law.

“It raises the question of selective prosecution,” said Harris Rosen, lawyer for both Benipersaud and the owner of Benisasia, Prabhjot “Jyoti” Johal, who is married to Rick Benisasia.

“It is, at the very least, unusual and perhaps suspect. I don’t necessarily buy into the fact that it’s a coincidence,” Rosen said.

A spokesperson for the Board of Funeral Services, which regulates funeral homes in Ontario, said it is happenstance that the board is trying to shut down both brothers’ homes simultaneously. The cases against the homes are separate, and each will “stand on its own merit,” Peter Jordan said.

On Jan. 6, the board announced its plans to pull the licences of the two Benisasia locations, alleging the business had skimped on chemicals while embalming hundreds of corpses, causing bodily fluids to leak from the deceased in the middle of funeral services. The homes’ owner denies the allegations and is appealing the revocation of the licences.

Ten days later, the board moved to shut down Lee Funeral Home, alleging the new owner, Benipersaud, lacks integrity and fiscal responsibility and was putting consumers at risk.

The allegations, spelled out in the board’s proposal to revoke the home’s licence, have not been proven in court. Benipersaud is appealing the board’s sanctions to a provincial tribunal, which ordered the records be made public last week after the Star filed a motion for their disclosure.

The funeral home owed money to casket suppliers for several months, the board alleges. In one case, suppliers refused to deliver a casket because of the unpaid debt, leaving the home unable to provide a customer with the coffin she had already paid for.

Provincial inspectors also found the funeral home owed money to the City of Mississauga for death registrations, as well as refunds to the estates of several deceased who had overpaid on prepaid contracts, the board says.

“I am led to believe that the Establishment cannot be expected to operate in accordance with the law and with integrity and honesty,” said Doug Simpson, the registrar for the board, in a letter outlining the allegations.

Benipersaud’s lawyer, however, describes him as a rookie funeral home operator who is making every effort to follow the rules. Benipersaud has repaid any significant debts he has with suppliers and refunded customers who were owed money, according to his appeal documents.

“There is not a shred of evidence of dishonesty,” the appeal says, and adds Benipersaud denies he lacks integrity.

Benipersaud has also hired a chartered accountant to help assuage any concerns that he is financially irresponsible and minimize any risk to the public.

“I don’t want problems or whatnot. I stay low-key,” said Benipersaud, sitting behind his desk in the wood-panelled front office of Lee Funeral Home in early March.

“I stay out of trouble. But sometimes trouble follows you.”

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Even if the board’s allegations could be proven, its proposal to shut down the home and eliminate Benipersaud’s livelihood is excessive and unreasonable, his lawyer said.

“Is the board’s punishment in this case proportionate with the allegations? I say, ‘Not even remotely,’ ” Rosen said.

The board’s Jordan said the regulator is justified in invoking its most severe penalty and stripping Lee Funeral Home of its licence.

“It’s also in the public interest that we take this step. We don’t do it lightly,” Jordan said.

There was such concern over the home’s outstanding debt with the city that McCallion contacted the business, the board says.

In Benipersaud’s appeal, his lawyer called the intervention of McCallion “puzzling,” as the value of the outstanding accounts was at most a few thousand dollars.

A city spokesperson said the municipality does not comment on specific outstanding accounts, and McCallion’s office refused to answer why she intervened.

Mississauga Councillor George Carlson, who represents Streetsville, said he wasn’t surprised to hear of the mayor’s involvement as she typically takes a hand-on approach.

If Lee Funeral Home loses its licence it will be a big blow to Streetsville, Carlson said.

“It’s almost a chapel or a meeting place, and has always been a very integral part of Streetsville,” Carlson said. “If we didn’t have our funeral home, it would be much akin to closing a school or closing a post office.”

The namesake of the funeral home, Lenvard Lee, was well-respected and would have been “mortified,” Carlson said, to learn of the troubles surrounding the business that bears his name.

Contact reporter Jesse McLean at 416-869-4147 or jmclean@thestar.ca

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