Barely released from the prison system, fraudster Christian Varin was the target of a series of seizures on Monday to prevent him from squandering assets that could be used to compensate hundreds of inventors who ‘he scammed.
The bailiffs arrived in the afternoon at the Montreal triplex of Varin’s spouse, Sylvain Riendeau, a librarian also targeted by the seizure order issued by the Superior Court. They also seized all of the couple’s bank accounts. Financial institutions have 48 hours to provide the value and location of all of the couple’s assets to attorneys who are pursuing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the fraud victims.
The lawyers particularly want to know where the $800,000 from a mortgage that Mr. Riendeau obtained on his triplex went a few days after Christian Varin made his first unaccompanied release from prison.
Christian Varin is the founder of the Fédération des inventeurs du Québec, a puppet organization which promised to obtain a patent for more than 600 inventors, in return for payments of $695 to $10,000. The charlatan never obtained these documents. He admitted to having swallowed up most of the proceeds of the scam – almost 3 million – in a luxurious building in Shefford, the “Pavillon des inventors”, which he had built on land belonging to his partner Sylvain Riendeau.
After Varin was sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud in September 2022, the building was declared the fruit of crime and put up for sale by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). The profit from the sale was to be used to compensate the victims as part of the class action.
Except that a suspicious fire that occurred the day before the sale caused its sale value to drop from $1.1 million to just $500,000. The DPCP never insured the building, citing “inordinate amounts” demanded by insurers since it was considered the result of crime.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
A luxurious building in Shefford belonging to Christian Varin, the “Pavillon des inventors”, was the victim of a suspicious fire.
The net proceeds from the sale intended for victim compensation were only $300,500 after the DPCP handed over nearly $100,000 to Varin’s lawyer, Mr.e Normand Haché, to pay his fees.
The class action lawyers had to take 30% of the remaining amount to pay their own fees. Last January, the latter modified their collective action in order to jointly pursue Sylvain Riendeau and possibly seize his triplex, located in the Ahuntsic borough, in order to compensate the victims.
They discovered in recent days that the triplex was encumbered with an $800,000 mortgage last November. “The $800,000 mortgage on the Riendeau triplex demonstrates a real risk of assets disappearing” and that the couple “is seeking to thwart the execution of a possible judgment,” concluded judge Silvana Conte.
Christian Varin was released on semi-release on April 19. Met on Monday at the entrance to the Ahuntsic triplex, he assured that no money was embezzled. “The $800,000 [empruntés par M. Riendeau]I think it was to have some margin to do work on the building,” he said.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
The triplex belonging to Sylvain Riendeau, targeted by a seizure ordered by the Superior Court of Quebec.
“I don’t take care of that house. I have nothing to do with that. I was convicted, I apologize to the victims, I spent some time in prison for that. I’m going to volunteer. I want to move on,” added Mr. Varin.
MM. Varin and Riendeau must provide a sworn statement to class action lawyers within 48 hours explaining their version of the facts. “After the Pavilion tragedy, the triplex is the only asset of the Varin-Riendeau couple which can ensure payment to compensate the victims of the fraud,” commented Me Marc-Antoine Cloutier, one of the lawyers representing the victims.
“We froze the assets while we understood what this money was used for. We are ready to do whatever it takes to obtain justice for the inventors,” added Mr.e Cloutier.
Mr. Varin assures that he “hid everything” from Sylvain Riendeau regarding the activities of the Federation of Inventors. “He had nothing to do with it. I had established a Chinese wall. “, he insisted.
“Narcissistic and arrogant”, according to the prison system
The Parole Board of Canada (CLCC) has refused Christian Varin his full parole.
If behind bars, Christian Varin behaved in an exemplary manner, the Commission recalls in its recent decision the “narcissistic and arrogant” traits of the offender and his ability to “manipulate, deceive and lie”.
Varin’s greed is even “remarkable”, asserts the Commission. “You are a master at manipulating emotions. The Commission concludes that your behavior even resembles an exercise in predation. The Commission knows that the deep narcissism that resides in you is a particularly difficult problem to deal with,” continues the Commission, to explain its “reservation” in this matter.
The commissioners had to push Varin to his “ultimate limits” during the hearing to get him to admit certain behaviors. Before the Commission, Christian Varin proposed a shortened stay on semi-freedom. He also said he wanted to get involved with a company, whose name is redacted in the decision. But his exit plan went down very badly with the commissioners.
They conclude that Varin “still has difficulty understanding the deep issues” of his criminality.
Among his conditions of semi-release, Christian Varin cannot come into contact with his numerous victims. “You have abused and deceived dozens of people. You betrayed them and, for some, destroyed their dreams and life’s work,” the Commission rules.