The executive director of a nonprofit organization (NPO) that ran a swingers club in Montreal has been fined a total of more than $1.4 million and sentenced to 12 months in prison, Revenu Québec announced Wednesday.
Jean-Paul Labaye, 63, recently pleaded guilty to 16 counts on his behalf and that of the NPO.
Mr. Labaye was the sole director of the organization.
The 60-year-old was also sentenced to 12 months in prison.
According to Revenu Québec, the organization that went by the name of Cercle reciprocal actually operated a bar called l’Orage, which hosted swing activities. It was information from the public that brought Revenu Québec to the trail of this NPO.
“The investigation revealed that between 2015 and 2018, this NPO failed to declare and remit to Revenu Québec the sales taxes it collected.
The total evaded duties amount to US$231,369.97. “The organization has also failed to pay taxes related to its activities for tax years 2015-2018 (at the provincial level) and for years 2016-2019 (at the federal level),” Revenu Québec said in a press release.
As part of its investigation, Revenu Québec conducted searches at the organization’s headquarters on Rue Saint-Hubert in Montreal.
The investigation also made it possible to obtain judicial authorizations that allowed the seizure of documents containing accounting data related to the activities of the NPO.