The industry watchdog is calling for the lifelong revocation of the license of a mortgage broker considered a suspect in the investigation into the massive data theft at Desjardins.
Posted at 7:51 p.m.
Mathieu Joncas, who is also a private lender, bought confidential information on “150,000 to 200,000” Desjardins clients without ensuring that he had their consent. During the hearings, he admitted having given this information to a fellow broker in January 2017.
In September 2021, the disciplinary committee of the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) also found him guilty of having obstructed the syndic’s investigation into him.
Mathieu Joncas will also be sanctioned for having placed himself in a conflict of interest by acting both as a mortgage broker and as a private lender with some of his clients.
A $100,000 List
To obtain the confidential data, Mathieu Joncas paid around $100,000 to another suspect in the data theft investigation, Jean-Loup Leullier-Masse.
The police suspect this other private lender of having himself bought information stolen from Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval. This former Desjardins employee is the number one suspect in the police investigation into the theft of confidential information from the Mouvement.
In 2021, Mathieu Joncas had tried to convince the disciplinary committee of his innocence. According to him, the data he had purchased could be calculated from public sources. Without success.
Instead, the organization concluded that it was indeed confidential information that the broker had obtained without consent. Without being able to say whether the information actually came from the theft of data at Desjardins, the broker watchdog had determined that it probably came from a financial institution.
In addition to customer contact information, the lists contained mortgage balances, interest rates, information on credit used and life insurance premiums.
Last February, Mathieu Joncas tried to force the disciplinary committee to withdraw his guilty verdict and resume the investigation from scratch.
His lawyer claimed that the information he had bought could not come from the theft of data at Desjardins. According to him, documents made public as part of the police investigation suggested that the main suspect had stolen this information only from March 2017. This is three months after the charges against Mathieu Joncas.
However, the committee rejected his request, ruling that the data he purchased was indeed confidential.
PHOTOS ARCHIVES THE PRESS
According to the lawyer for the syndic of the OACIQ, Mathieu Joncas “does not have the qualities required to benefit from a broker’s licence”.
Mathieu Joncas could however appeal the guilt decision of the disciplinary committee when his sanction will be known, in the coming weeks, according to his lawyer Olivier Desjardins.
Aggravating factors, says lawsuit
The syndic’s lawyer, Isabelle Martel, argued a host of aggravating factors to convince the disciplinary committee to retain the penalty she is claiming.
In particular, she underlines the many obstacles that Mathieu Joncas put in the way of the OACIQ syndic during her investigation.
“He tries to make believe that he wants to collaborate. He shows up for a meeting. He is asked to bring his computer; he brings it, but there is nothing left on it”, illustrates Isabelle Martel.
She points out that Mathieu Joncas is an agency manager. “He supervises the brokers. He is a resource person who must be an example, a model! »
The lawyer adds that the disciplinary committee had already condemned Mathieu Joncas for the first time in 2014 for having encouraged two people who did not hold a license to do mortgage brokerage.
As for his conflicts of interest, Isabelle Martel points out that Mathieu Joncas charged exorbitant fees to clients who did business with him. One borrower, in particular, paid him fees of $12,400 on a loan of $54,000, or 23% fees, even before calculating interest. According to her, the broker “cares much more about his profit than the financial profile of the client”.
“You have no proof of his change in behavior, his risk of recidivism or his rehabilitation,” said the lawyer. The only way to protect the public is if they no longer have a permit. »
“Lack of judgment”, pleads the defense
Instead, Mathieu Joncas’ lawyer proposes the simple suspension of his client’s license for seven months.
According to him, his client was unaware that the purchased data came from a theft and he especially lacked judgment.
“I think that Mr. Joncas, unfortunately – I apologize for saying it like that bluntly in front of him – he was stupid to believe that it could be legitimate, that there were no more questions to be asked. », says Olivier Desjardins.
The broker’s representative also proposed to impose a reprimand on him for the conflict of interest charge, as well as an order forcing him to take a course on the subject.