The trial of a daycare director accused of embezzling several thousand dollars opened Tuesday at the Montreal courthouse with testimony from three parents who say they owe significant sums to Revenu Québec because of her scheme. Accused of fraud and falsification of documents, Fatima El Boukhari is said to have caused nearly ten victims.
According to the Crown, Mme El Boukhari allegedly falsely claimed to be the head of a subsidized daycare, or in the process of becoming one, in order to obtain advance payments for childcare expenses from the government. She took these sums directly from the bank accounts of parents who, in fact, were not entitled to them.
“These are my first children, so I didn’t know how it worked,” testified Laura Forlini-Duplantie, one of the alleged victims, before the Court of Quebec.
Fatima El Boukhari allegedly produced false documents with signatures and incorrect information such as address on file, family income, employment and number of days of attendance at daycare.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Fatima El Boukhari with her lawyer Amélie D’Assylvas
In Quebec, subsidized daycares are reimbursed at the same level as early childhood centers (CPE), and cost parents around $9 per day. Unsubsidized daycare centers are reimbursed based on the parent’s salary.
In 2020, Valérie Gagné enrolled her 2 1/2-year-old daughter in her daycare in Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal. Her daughter would only stay there for three days.
However, four payments of $1,500 were allegedly allocated to her by Revenu Québec into her personal bank account, before being withdrawn the same day by the accused. The payments allegedly continued after her daughter no longer attended daycare.
“Even today, I owe the government $9,000 with interest,” explained Valérie Gagné, one of the alleged victims.
Mme Gagné allegedly called the accused to understand the payments. An amount of $1,500 for three days seemed excessive to him. Under cross-examination, the defense asked her why she had not called Revenu Québec sooner to obtain explanations.
Significant debts
The parents all wanted to enroll their child in a subsidized daycare.
“I trusted this lady […]. She had a speech ready: “don’t worry, we take care of everything, it will take care of itself”,” explained Laura Forlini-Duplantie.
The mother enrolls her 2 and a half year old twins in daycare in 2021. While recovering from surgery, she is not entitled to the tax credit for childcare expenses. She knows it. She is looking for a subsidized daycare only and thinks she came across a gem when registering for the Aux coin des ami(e)s daycare. In total, she will owe almost $20,000: her children went to daycare for a period of just under a year. The repercussions for the unemployed single mother will be severe.
The bank reportedly froze his account, sometimes preventing him from paying for his groceries. “I was able to go ten days without having access to my bank account. It makes everything more difficult,” she emphasized in testimony before the Court.
“Was this amount almost equal to all the money you received in a year? », questioned Judge Salvatore Mascia. “And we told you outright that daycare was subsidized? “, he continued. The answer to both of these questions was yes.
The mother would have felt forced to pay part of her debt worth $2,600 since her account was frozen. The alleged victim, however, contests the government’s assessment notice in its entirety.
Tanya Paquin-Koszela has paid off her debt to the government. The woman who owed a total of $6,000 said she estimated she paid more than the money that went through her account.
Then a legal assistant in a law firm, she had been looking for daycare for her boy for more than a month when she came across the daycare ad in July 2021. The daycare was advertised as being subsidized. Like the other alleged victims, she allegedly had amounts taken directly from her account. “I didn’t find it normal,” she expressed in court. Her boy stayed in daycare for about 20 days.
Under cross-examination, defense lawyer Anna Ouahnich asked the alleged victims why they had repaid the sums in full or in part, when this could be perceived as an indication of guilt.
The trial will continue until next week for a total of six days. Judge Salvatore Mascia presides over the hearing.