An employee at a Desjardins subsidiary who used his “privileged position” within the financial institution to defraud customers out of $243,000 was sentenced to six months in prison. Cédric Carrié, a former top footballer, claims to have been “used” by unknown accomplices.
Posted at 11:30am
The 32-year-old scammer worked at Desjardins Financial Security, a subsidiary of Desjardins, in 2019. He had to take calls from customers to help them register online, withdraw money or choose savings products. In a branch in Montreal he was in contact with customers “daily”.
“Monsieur held a privileged position at the bank which gave him access to accounts and information such as the date of birth of certain beneficiaries. The position he held meant he was able to carry out controls and/or transactions,” said Crown Prosecutor Me Sandra Tremblay.
Over a one-month period, 62 “irregular withdrawals” totaling $547,000 were detected in the same “transitional” group of retirement savings. 18 of these retreats were consulted by Cédric Carrié. These sums then ran through five banks.
Of 36 victims, Cédric Carrié consulted the dates of birth of 32 of them and the accounts of 27 of them. The scammer took screenshots during two phone calls with customers while typing victims’ numbers into the notepad application.
Another “irregular withdrawals” totaling $38,000 were made from three accounts in another “savings group.” The total loss from the scam is $243,373.
“There were other actors in this project. It wasn’t Mr. Carrié, the mastermind, the brain. […] One or more actors have withdrawn funds,” said defense attorney Me François Létourneau-Prézeau on Tuesday, presenting the current suggestion of six months in prison.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Me François Létourneau-Prézeau, criminal lawyer
This is a relatively light penalty for a scam of this magnitude. This is justified, among other things, with a “very positive” prejudice report, according to Me Tremblay. The Crown could not prove that the defendant could benefit from this sum. Note that he gave Desjardins $15,000.
“In the report we assume that Mr. has remorse, which is clear. He describes his actions as unacceptable. Herr had no financial self-confidence and wanted to ensure a better quality of life for his spouse,” stressed Me Létourneau-Prézeau.
The scammer was a former Quebec soccer star in his youth and was a sports coordinator at the Brossard Soccer Association. But after media coverage of the scam last fall, Cédric Carrié lost his job over complaints from parents, his lawyer lamented.
At his hearing, Me François Létourneau-Prézeau denounced the “significant impact” of the La Presse article on his client. In an unusual motion, the attorney then requested a closed session to exclude the author of these lines from the room to deal with “journalistic questions.”
“Before I order a closed session, I need a motion justifying it,” Judge Lori Renée Weitzman replied. The attorney then withdrew his application.