Cinar has been quiet about an internal investigation looking into the use of company funds to renovate the co-founders Montreal home. No comment, was all Suzan Ayscough would give the press about co-founders Micheline Charest and Ronald Weinberg using almost CA$500,000 (US$348,000) of company funds to touch up their home without the knowledge of the board of directors. In March, Charest stepped down from her positions as co-CEO and chairman and Weinberg left his post as president and co-CEO. The couple stayed on as advisors to the company until pressured by the board to cut all ties as charges of fraud and unapproved investments came to light. However, the pair still holds a 62% stake in the childrens programming producer. Other alleged unapproved fund funneling by the twosome includes putting the mortgage of their home in Cinars name, putting their nanny on the company pay roll and having Charests sister paid nearly CA$1 million (US$689,000) in script royalties for stories she did not write. The last instance coincides with a police and government agencies investigation into Cinars use of Canadian names on scripts by U.S. writers to receive Canadian tax credits. Allegedly false names were placed on the scripts and the royalties that would have gone to the U.S. scribes was funneled to Charest's sister and other employees of Cinar.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
