A luxurious building in which the fraudster Christian Varin swallowed 1.3 million dollars stolen from dozens of inventors arouses covetousness. Who will benefit? The victims ? The state? Or his lawyer?
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Planted at the end of a row away from Shefford, in the Eastern Townships, the two-storey building, with an area of 300 m2 with indoor swimming pool, large meeting rooms and equipped with LEED certification, was completely deserted during the passage of The Press last week.
The place has been the subject of negotiations for several weeks between lawyers involved in various criminal and civil proceedings against the deposed president of the Federation of Quebec Inventors, Christian Varin.
The businessman, whom the Court of Quebec described as a “charlatan of the 21ste century” and an “impostor who exploits public credulity”, is awaiting his sentence after being convicted of fraud for defrauding dozens of inventors whom he falsely led to believe that he would obtain a patent for them for a payment of $695 to $10,000 for bogus services.
Through a fake NPO, Varin promised to reinvest all the profits generated by its bogus services in this “Inventors’ Pavilion”, a high-end meeting place where its customers could test prototypes and share their knowledge.
The building, which Varin was actually renting out for $1,434 a night on Airbnb, is now considered a “proceeds of crime” by the Sûreté du Québec, which has asked to obtain all traces of banking transactions. related to its construction, reveals the police information obtained by The Press.
Varin’s lawyer subject to restraining order
According to our information, discussions are underway between the lawyers involved in the case to determine how the sums generated by the possible sale of the building could be redistributed to the victims of the fraud as compensation.
In January, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions obtained a “proceeds of crime restraint order” prohibiting the sale of the building until further notice.
The blocking order targets, among others, the firm of the lawyer who defended Varin during his criminal trial, Haché and associates lawyers inc. Four months before the guilty verdict, its president, Mr.e Normand Haché registered a legal hypothec of $125,000 on the building to guarantee his fees.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Christian Varin, in the back, and Me Normand Haché at the Montreal courthouse, in November 2020
This situation raised questions from the syndic of the Barreau du Québec, learned The Press. Article 77 of the Lawyers’ Code of Ethics, which deals with conflicts of interest in property potentially in dispute, specifically prohibits a lawyer from “acquiring an interest in property which is or may be the subject of a dispute related to a mandate entrusted to him”.
But the situation is complex. Thanks to a rather unusual legal structure, Christian Varin and his Federation of Quebec Inventors only own the building temporarily, through a 25-year emphyteutic lease.
At the end of it, the entire building will be transmitted to her spouse, Sylvain Riendeau, who is the owner of the land. However, Mr. Riendeau was not charged in the criminal proceedings.
Me Haché denies having placed himself in a conflict of interest, since according to him, the legal hypothec of $125,000 he holds on the building “is limited to the value of the land” belonging to the spouse of Mr. Varin . He maintains that the mortgage guarantee is justified in the circumstances. “Otherwise, how will I be paid if Mr. Varin goes to prison? “, he asks.
According to lawyer Vincent Langlois, who represents some of the inventors cheated by Mr. Varin, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) is preparing to request an immediate cancellation of the legal mortgage held by Mr.e Chopped on the building, so that all the sums recovered from the sale of the building go back to the victims. “It is the prerogative of the DPCP to manage the residue from the sale of the building. They could put that money into the Victims of Crime Fund, but we understand that in the current situation they want to compensate victims directly [de Christian Varin] “, explains M.e Langlois.
Reached by email, the DPCP remains vague as to its intentions: “The legal file is following its course, the fate of the building will be decided after the pronouncement of the sentence”, which is expected later in the summer, has indicated the prosecutor Nicolas Ammerlaan.
With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press