Beauceron entrepreneur Bernard Breton admitted his guilt on Wednesday to two counts of fraud against the Quebec government under the General Financial Assistance Program during disasters.
This fraud occurred in the context of the 2019 floods in Beauce.
At the time, a compensation program was set up by the Ministry of Public Security to support disaster victims who had to have their homes demolished.
The ministry requested that victims submit two quotes and reimbursed the equivalent of the lowest.
Bernard Breton then fabricated false bids in the name of several demolition contractors which he gave to disaster victims in addition to the bids from his own company, thus guaranteeing him to have the lowest price and win the contract.
-He then entrusted these contracts to subcontractors to pocket the difference between the amount paid by Quebec and the actual cost of the work.
According to the Crown prosecutor, Me Michaël Desjardins, Bernard Breton fraudulently obtained 121 contracts which allowed him to obtain a net profit of $1 million.
A presentence report was requested by the defense lawyer, Me Michel Dussault, and the file was postponed until May 2 for observations on the sentence.
Remember that Bernard Breton was arrested in October 2023 by the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit.
