A 61-year-old Thornhill man is facing a slew of charges after police say he used his job as a conference space manager at MaRS Discovery – the “urban innovation hub” that has faced controversy over use of provincial Liberal government funding – to defraud the MaRS and associated catering vendors of $970,000.

Toronto police say the man used his job, as director of the Collaboration Centre within MaRS, to scam the money.

It’s alleged he used a business called Rediscover Niagara, a company that media are reporting is registered to the suspect’s name, to redirect money intended for MaRS.

Allen Gelberg was arrested Dec. 14 and charged with eight counts of fraud over $5,000, one count of defrauding the public over $5,000 and possession of and laundering proceeds of crime.

Gelberg left his role at MaRs in 2014 and is currently listed on his LinkedIn account as the managing director of the Canadian Friends of Ariel University, a non-profit organization supporting the university, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

MaRS released a comment on Thursday, Dec. 15 saying the organization completed a forensic investigation and has installed a "whistleblower line" to avoid incidents in the future.

"As soon as external sources brought the improprieties to the attention of MaRS' senior management, MaRS took immediate and appropriate action to suspend the employee and initiate an investigation," the organization said in the statement. "As an organization that receives public and philanthropic funding, MaRS is committed to its fiduciary responsibilities."

He was to appear in court Dec. 14 and police are asking anyone who had business contact with Gelberg in his former role to call police 416-808-2222.