Christian Varin, this fraudster who ripped off hundreds of Quebec inventors with a “puppet federation” which promised them patents without taking the slightest serious step, was handcuffed in court on Wednesday and will take the road to prison for the next five years.
Posted at 6:47 p.m.
In pronouncing his sentence, Judge Alexandre Dalmau, of the Court of Quebec, also banned the 65-year-old man in perpetuity from accepting a job, paid or voluntary, where he could have control over real estate, securities or the money of others.
“Justice has been served! It closes the loop of six years of dark period for Quebec inventors, ”rejoiced Daniel Paquette, an inventor and ex-policeman who was the first to denounce the Varin scheme, alerting investigators and even ministers of the Legault government. . “The government must wake up, we alerted them, we sent them files, they never did anything to stop it, so much so that we went from 200 to 1,000 victims,” added Mr. Paquettte. .
Varin, in creating his Federation of Quebec Inventors in 2014, set up a “money-printing machine, built on dishonesty”, which depended on a “convincing website, which gave the impression that a team of professionals” was behind him. In reality, it was only “bait for its prey”, underlined the magistrate, reading his 14-page judgment.
Evidence has shown that this “21st century charlatane century” led around 1,000 victims to believe, for a costly fee, that he would obtain a patent for them by doing extensive searches in specialized databases. But in fact, the documents he obtained from the US Patent Office were simple acknowledgments of receipt that had no legal value to protect inventions.
Varin thus stole around 3 million from his clients, among whom were “patenteux” as well as seasoned entrepreneurs, but also more vulnerable people who had mental health problems or who were autistic. He stole them all “without scruples”, underlined the judge.
Showing repentance only once his guilt was recognized in January 2022, Christian Varin wrote a letter of apology which he recently read in court, crying for having destroyed “the life project” of his victims. But given his repeated lies, “it is impossible to determine whether he is sincere or whether they are crocodile tears”, concluded the judge.
“The risk of recidivism is “very present” and Varin “must do a work of introspection” in prison, decides the court.
His fraud, “among the most serious” due to the complexity of the scheme, the high number of victims and the duration of the crime, could have earned him up to 7 years in prison, but the judge had to take into account the fact that the scammer gave back nearly $300,000 to some victims, as part of out-of-court settlements.
The Crown, which was demanding six years in the penitentiary, is now trying to confiscate the “Pavillon des Inventeurs”, a luxurious building in Shefford in which Varin has paid 1.3 million of stolen money.
The public prosecutor hopes to sell it and return the fruits to the victims.
However, the building, considered a proceeds of crime, belongs to Sylvain Riendeau, the spouse of Christian Varin, through a 20-year emphyteutic lease, which complicates its confiscation.
“The Criminal Code has very strong forfeiture provisions. In the circumstances, it is up to Mr. Riendeau to prove that he did not collude with Mr. Varin in the perpetration of the fraud. In our opinion, he was complicit mainly because he is the ultimate beneficiary of the building,” said Crown counsel, Ms.e Nicolas Ammerlaan.
A request for confiscation of the building, valued at 2 million, will be debated in November before the Court. Christian Varin’s lawyer, Mr.e Normand Haché has already obtained a legal hypothec of $125,000 on the building to guarantee his own fees.
In addition to anger, the victims share “broken dreams, a loss of self-confidence”, and above all, a “sense of shame” at having been fooled by Chirstian Varin, commented Judge Dalmau.
“We never thought we were going to see the end, and there, we saw him leave with handcuffs. It brews! Inside, it raises a lot of emotions, ”added Nancy Vigneault, another victim who was present in the courtroom.