Five people, including businessmen and a former notary, are alleged to have devised a real estate fraud scheme that claimed more than a dozen victims and illegally netted them more than $20 million.
“This is a case of real estate fraud. The case has been the subject of successful police investigations for several years,” Crown prosecutor Mr Pascal Grimard said on Wednesday as he left the courtroom.
“There are several victims. At least a dozen,” he continued.
Benoit Charron, 41, Mickael Voyer, 40, Olivier Gaudet, 30, and ex-notary Pierre Aubin, 67, appeared at the Laval courthouse in the morning. All four men are now facing fraud charges.
The fifth co-defendant, Jean-François Desormeaux, 42, will officially appear next January as he is currently abroad. There is currently an arrest warrant against him.
Photo from Facebook
Jean-François Desormeaux, co-defendant.
With other people's money
In 2020, our Bureau of Investigation reported that Desormeaux, owner of the companies Ideal Finance and Ideal Development, specifically luxury cars, owned $60,000 worth of Rolex watches, a $1 million home, and a boat worth $60,000 of $60,000. $150,000 to the detriment of a crowd of investors.
According to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the fraud scheme consisted of defrauding lenders and investors in connection with various real estate “projects” being developed.
According to the lawsuit, these would primarily involve gas station and restaurant projects in the cities of Trois-Rivières, Rawdon and Sainte-Julienne. Some would have been completed, others not.
“Between April 2014 and January 2017, the suspects illegally confiscated funds estimated at several million euros that were intended to be used for real estate developments,” police emphasize.
According to our information, this scam is estimated to be worth at least $20 million.
Blocked house
As part of this case, a Florida property belonging to a trust account in the name of Benoît Charron, the former buyer of the fast food chain Planète Putin, and his father, was subject to a freezing order.
Photo from Benoît Charron's LinkedIn
Benoît Charron, co-defendant.
The US Secret Service participated in the measure requested by the court for this property worth $4.8 million, emphasizes the SQ.
Photo from the Redfin.com website
Home owned by co-defendant Benoît Charron and his father out of escrow with an estimated value of $4.8 million in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In 2015, Charron, now president of the company Summum Développementimmobilienr, declared himself bankrupt with debts of more than $5 million.
The public prosecutor therefore assumes that this luxury house could have been purchased and paid for with the proceeds of crime.
Silent notary
For his part, former notary Pierre Aubin has already pleaded guilty to imitating a client's signature, creating a false document and obstructing the investigation of the trustee of the Chambre des notaires du Québec. His law license was also revoked for one year.
Pierre Aubin, former notary and co-defendant. SCREENSHOT VAT NEWS
When asked by the TVA Nouvelles representative at his home in Boisbriand on Wednesday, Aubin said only sparingly.
At the time, our investigative agency reported that one of the former notary's victims was the wife of a lawyer who is now a judge in the Quebec Court.
The defendants are all free while awaiting trial but must remain within the court's jurisdiction, prosecutors said.
I Pascal Grimard, Crown Prosecutor. SCREENSHOT VAT NEWS
“These are not people we had motives for [pour] Keep them in custody,” Mr Grimard said.
Their cases will be heard in court again next January.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.