A fraudster who asked business owners to offer them clothing embroidered with their company's image without ever delivering the goods has pleaded guilty to about fifty counts of fraud, totaling nearly $250,000. He could now spend 30 months in prison.
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The smooth speaker used the same approach every time.
Daniel Jacques approached entrepreneurs in hardware store parking lots, on construction sites or in their businesses to offer his products.
“The defendant offered discounts, faster order receipt or free additional clothing in exchange for immediate payment,” said Crown prosecutor Valérie Bélizaire-Joseph on Friday.
Around fifty companies fell into the trap. The amounts paid to the fraudster vary from $900 to almost $35,000. In total, authorities estimate the amounts fraudulently stolen in Quebec and other regions at nearly $250,000.
“These are amounts that were stolen with the snap of a finger, but cannot be won with the snap of a finger.” [pour des petites entreprises]» remarked Judge Frank D'Amours.
Sales and credits
“Pressure sales,” “persistent,” Daniel Jacques’ victims said the man knew how to persuade and was “a good salesman.” But when they did some digging, the entrepreneurs discovered that the man's company, Jack Daniels Graphix, had been deregistered in recent years.
Most explained that they had “hunted” Daniel Jacques for quite some time before filing a complaint. In every call or meeting, every excuse was good to explain the delays, be it the pandemic, inventory levels, or production issues.
Daniel Jacques even went so far as to demand loans from the baited companies under the pretext of allowing his company to increase production, which would ensure faster orders. A company placed an order and transferred funds totaling $34,000 to the man.
The complaint of a first entrepreneur led to the approval of a first file by the Director of Criminal and Prosecution in September 2022. The news then spread on social media and the SPVQ launched an appeal to potential victims. Then the allegations against Daniel Jacques began to unfold.
At large and awaiting judgment
In addition to the already well-stocked portrait of Daniel Jacques, three charges of non-compliance with requirements are added.
Since his first arrest, the man has been released twice under conditions that he has violated each time.
Nevertheless, Judge Frank D'Amours accepted the parties' proposal to release him under strict conditions pending sentencing. The defense and Crown will present a joint proposal of a 30-month sentence, but Me Charles Levasseur explained that his client “needs to get certain parts of his life in order” and that his father is currently ill.
“It is a somewhat extraordinary course of action,” Judge D’Amours warned, warning that the consequences of a new violation would be serious. In particular, Daniel Jacques is not permitted to apply for a loan or advertise. His phone records are also being monitored.
The case will be heard in court again at the end of March.
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