In a unanimous decision on Thursday, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that Richard Vallières should pay a fine equal to the value of the stolen syrup – not just the profit he made from it.
The Supreme Court says the Quebec Court of Appeals made a mistake by reducing its fine to $ 1 million.
Vallières was found guilty in 2016 of fraud, trafficking and stealing 9,500 barrels of syrup between 2011 and 2012 from a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Que., The warehouse of the province’s maple syrup producers.
The stolen syrup was worth more than $ 18 million, but Vallières said during his trial that he sold it for $ 10 million and made a profit of $ 1 million.
“The distinction between an offender’s income and expenses in order to determine the perpetrator’s profit margin would be tantamount to legitimizing criminal activity,” the Supreme Court ruling said.
The ruling states that the fine should serve a “dual purpose” to deprive Vallières of the proceeds of crime and prevent him and others from committing a similar offense again.
Richard Vallières was found guilty in 2016 of fraud, trafficking and theft of 9,500 barrels of syrup between 2011 and 2012. (Marika Wheeler / CBC)
The Supreme Court actually reduced Valiere’s $ 10 million fine by about $ 830,000, the amount owed to the syrup producers’ federation by a separate court ruling.
Vallières has 10 years to pay the fine, otherwise he will serve an additional six years in prison. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence.
The theft of maple syrup was uncovered in 2012, during a routine inspection of the central warehouse by the federation representing Quebec maple syrup producers. It is the largest theft ever investigated by Quebec provincial police.
