What if you could pass your theoretical driving test without worry, thanks to a professional fraudster? This is what more than 700 people did in 2019 and 2020. They used the services of a Laval resident who has just received a prison sentence and a hefty fine.
What there is to know
- A 60-year-old Laval resident, Alex Tran, was found guilty of tax evasion on April 18.
- From 2019 to 2020, he helped his clients cheat to pass their theoretical exam at the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) by providing them with a camera and a headset.
- Revenu Québec found 709 clients who benefited from Mr. Tran’s services.
- The success rate for SAAQ theory exams has increased from 2019 to 2021.
An aspiring driver settles in to take his theoretical driving test. Unbeknownst to everyone, he wears a camera and an earpiece. From a distance, a fraudster tells him the answers to the examination of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ). For his service, the fraudster receives a tidy sum, which, of course, he does not declare.
This modus operandi was used at least 709 times in 2019 and 2020, Revenu Québec discovered. The provincial agency’s investigation culminated on April 18 in front of the Laval courthouse. Alex Tran, a 60-year-old Laval resident, was found guilty of tax evasion.
The sexagenarian was given a suspended prison sentence of two years less a day (which he will serve at home). He will also have to pay fines of more than $227,000.
This covers in particular the sums he would have had to pay in tax, if he had reported the fruit of his fraudulent trade. Indeed, for the year 2019, Mr. Tran failed to declare $426,590 of income and waived payment of $110,500 in taxes. The following year, in 2020, $232,670 was undeclared. Mr. Tran avoided paying more than $60,400 in taxes.
In addition to filing false declarations, he did not pay any taxes to the state. For these two years, he should have paid a little less than $36,500 in GST, indicates Revenu Québec in a press release published Thursday.
A long-term investigation
Revenu Québec was alerted by the Sûreté du Québec on January 9, 2020, according to court documents.
During the investigation, Mr. Tran’s 2019 and 2020 diaries were seized. It contained the names of its customers, the times and the cities where the driving test was to take place, details Revenu Québec.
Data was also extracted from cell phones and the information found was corroborated with the SAAQ.
Alex Tran was charged under the Excise Tax Act in 2022. On February 23, 2023, he pleaded guilty to counts of misrepresentation and failing to pay taxes.
What about cheating customers in all of this?
“The Company is continuing its analysis in conjunction with the customers involved in this cheating scheme in order to see what actions to take,” said Geneviève Côté, spokesperson for the SAAQ, by email.
These 700 or so cases of cheating are just a drop in the ocean of theoretical driving tests at the SAAQ. This exam includes three sections: the Highway Safety Code, signage and driving a passenger vehicle.
According to the latest data from the SAAQ, the number of theory exams taken in Quebec fell slightly in 2020 and rose again in 2021. Between 165,000 and 230,000 are taken annually in the province.
Increase in success rate
The success rate for SAAQ theory exams has increased steadily between 2019 and 2021.
For exams on the Highway Safety Code, the pass rate increased from 56% in 2019 to 70% in 2021.
The signage section saw an increase in its pass rate from 56% to 65%. As for driving a passenger vehicle, the success rate increased from 61% in 2019 to 73% in 2021.
Data for 2022 is not available, said Mme side to The Press.
Note that the success rate for practical exams also increased slightly between 2019 and 2021. In 2019, this rate was 68% for driving a passenger vehicle. It reached 75% in 2020 and 2021.
“The Company has put in place additional measures to prevent such situations and new exam cheating schemes from occurring,” said Ms.me Side in writing.
The SAAQ claims to have revised its policy. She also raised awareness among her staff and clients.
It was not possible to have more information Thursday evening. “The Société will not issue any additional comments on the investigation conducted by Revenu Québec,” said Ms.me Coast.