Copa Health, a Mesa-based nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities and serious mental illness, has sued its former CEO Dr. Shar Najafi-Piper, her husband Brian Piper, and Roya Health, a competing behavioral health company Najafi-Piper co-founded. The lawsuit, filed March 23 and amended April 6, alleges that Najafi-Piper “abused her position and Copa’s corporate credit card to fund a lavish personal lifestyle” while systematically diverting company resources to build her own organization.
The Alleged Scheme
According to the lawsuit, Najafi-Piper was hired as CEO in 2019 at approximately $700,000 per year plus a $20,000 car allowance. She started Roya Health in September 2022 while still employed at Copa, telling board members and staff it was a partnership or joint venture rather than a competing business. The suit claims she “pillaged Copa’s confidential business information, trade secrets, proprietary forms, policies, and procedures, and employee expertise” to build Roya at Copa’s expense. During the period when Najafi-Piper was building Roya Health, she typically appeared at Copa’s Mesa offices once per week, according to the filing.
Specific Expenditures
Copa alleges Najafi-Piper charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses between 2021 and 2025, including luxury vacations, premium sports tickets, designer goods, and personal security. Court documents specify $374,725 in Arizona Cardinals football tickets charged to Copa’s account, with Najafi-Piper, her family, and personal guests as the primary beneficiaries. She allegedly spent $250,000 on Young Presidents’ Organization dues, dinners, travel, and events, and more than $200,000 on airfare and hotels for worldwide resort stays in Paris, New Orleans, Banff, Mexico, Hawaii, and Beverly Hills.
Board Action
The Copa Board of Directors voted unanimously to terminate Najafi-Piper’s employment approximately three months before the lawsuit was filed, after discovering she had been using Copa’s resources to fund her lifestyle and had formed a competing business. No criminal charges have been filed. Najafi-Piper and Roya Health were given until April 16 to respond to the lawsuit. A preliminary hearing was also scheduled for April 16 to discuss the dispute.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/mesa-healthcare-group-sues-its-former-ceo/article_1185b77d-f348-57a1-9aee-ff9e9cc5fbe6.html