Massive data theft at Desjardins | A suspect was already wiretapped in another investigation

A former insurance broker who is one of the suspects in the investigation into the massive theft of information at Desjardins was already the subject of wiretapping “in a case of aggravated assault”.

In July 2019, an investigator assigned to Operation Portier on the theft of data learned that a Quebec police investigation was already interested in Nicolas Fecteau-Tincau, reveal new decapitated versions of court documents. This insurance broker was working with another suspect, François Baillargeon-Bouchard.

In May 2019, Quebec City police had already arrested Fecteau-Tincau and searched his home as part of their aggravated assault investigation, the documents say.

Then in July, the SQ investigator assigned to Portier had access to wiretapping that had already been carried out by municipal agents. They allowed him to learn that Fecteau-Tincau, 33, had had discussions about Desjardins with several other members of the group of brokers in the capital who would have had access to the stolen data.

The document is part of new, partially redacted versions of police affidavits released by the court at the request of The Press and other media.

Looking for money to invest in the black

The wiretap intercepted a conversation between Fecteau-Tincau and another individual looking for an investor willing to invest $30,000 and “open to giving money to the black market”.

Fecteau-Tincau then mentions a contact “who has become a millionaire” and who “has access to a lot of money, big funds”, mentions the police statement. He then specifies that it is Jean-Loup Leullier-Masse.

This businessman from the Quebec region is suspected of having himself bought the data of Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, a former employee of Desjardins and the main suspect in the investigation into the massive theft of information.

Fecteau-Tincau then mentions the name of Mathieu Joncas, a mortgage broker and private lender. In June 2022, the industry policeman fined him $36,000 and 420 days of suspension for buying data lists on 150,000 to 200,000 Desjardins customers.

“Nicolas Fecteau-Tincau thinks that another of his friends, Dave […] might also be interested and that he has the money,” the police affidavit continues.

The document then specifies that it speaks “probably” of Dave Leclerc. Also on the list of suspects in the Portier project, he is “general manager” of Boreal Mortgage Centers in Boischatel, according to the company’s website. He still holds a mortgage broker license from the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

The documents mention that Fecteau-Tincau clients “often have life insurance with Desjardins.” Access to data stolen from the Movement would have allowed it to offer cheaper products.

The boss of Fecteau-Tincau, insurance broker François Baillargeon-Bouchard, was fined a total of $40,000 for buying stolen data on 40,000 Desjardins customers and trying to obstruct an investigation by the ‘AMF.

criminal past

Fecteau-Tincau was sentenced to 90 days in prison in 2019 for cannabis trafficking. His criminal record indicates that it was the Regional Mixed Squad, responsible for the repression of organized crime, which arrested him.

The broker was also charged with threatening in 2019, but the charges against him were dropped. He was, however, given a two-year probation sentence for failing to comply with a subpoena.

In 2020, the AMF refused to renew his insurance broker’s license because of his conviction for cannabis trafficking. He challenged this decision and won his case in 2021, when the Superior Court ordered the organization to re-examine the file. But in 2022, the Authority again refused to renew his permit.

Still no charges

More than three years after the announcement of the vast leak of confidential data on 9.7 million Desjardins customers, the SQ, in charge of the Portier operation on the case, has still not filed charges. .

The investigation began in 2018 with the Laval police after a suspicious transaction that prompted Desjardins to contact the authorities. The SQ then took matters into its own hands in June 2019, when the Movement announced the massive theft of data on millions of its customers.

The main suspect, the employee of the marketing department Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, would have taken advantage of his access to steal and resell the information.