Dishonest accountant, elusive documents | -

Every morning, Lucie Grégoire starts her day by taking an energetic walk. For more than two years, her neighbor and friend Nathalie Ratthé accompanied her on these outings.

Over time, the bonds grew closer between the two women. They talked about their children, exchanged house keys and rode motorcycles together.

Lucie finally hired her as an accountant in 2022 when she became a help relations consultant. Her friend’s professionalism inspired her with confidence.

Who wouldn’t trust someone who tells you [qu’elle a] accounting offices, that she’s been doing this for years, that she’s able to save you money?

Shortly after hiring the accountant, Lucie created her business and had it incorporated. Their relationship deteriorated after Lucie discovered disturbing things about her new company.

Nathalie Ratthé made her believe that to set up as a company, it would be in her best interest to buy an existing company that was no longer useful, what we colloquially call a tablet company.

However, the accountant did not tell him that she was selling him a company that she had bought from another entrepreneur for a profit. Nor did she suggest to her friend that she check whether this company was debt free or problem free.

She didn’t do her job, Lucie protests. She did not verify that the other entity owed money or that the accounts were not closed.

This caused him serious problems with the tax authorities and serious financial difficulties. Their friendship then fell apart.

Lucie Grégoire sues her accountant for $15,000. His grievances: refusal to hand over documents, transmission of false declarations to governments, use of his identity, breach of trust, etc.

Nathalie Ratthé rejects these allegations.

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Since her misadventure, Lucie Grégoire has taken a particular interest in a criminal case which involves her ex-accountant. The latter was found guilty of fraud of more than $100,000 last February in another case.

Nathalie Ratthé awaits her sentence. She risks prison.

Recover your documents at all costs

From now on, Lucie has a mission: to recover all her documents. In the absence of her papers, she cannot prove her identity to the tax authorities. It is therefore impossible for her to demonstrate what she considers to be dishonest actions on the part of Nathalie Ratthé.

Cynthia Courtois, professor of accounting at Laval University, says people don’t realize how sensitive the documents they give to their accountant are.

You are going to give him your social security number […]your name, your address. […] You will provide bank details. You have just given exactly everything it takes to steal an identity.

To obtain her papers, Lucie Grégoire called on lawyers, contacted the police and sent a bailiff three times to Nathalie Ratthé’s office in Laval.

One day, she decided to go there herself. But it was wasted effort. Like other clients, Lucie maintains that she is still missing important documents.

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Professor Cynthia Courtois asserts that not providing access to documents makes it possible to camouflage the implementation of a scheme. In his opinion, it’s a way to save time.

The person who is a victim is unable to reconstruct their story. It is very difficult subsequently to succeed in launching all the investigations that could be carried outshe specifies.

Nathalie Ratthé’s vehicles and travels shock Lucie to the highest degree. She explains that her ex-accountant and her partner regularly go motorcycle riding in Ecuador.

They have a group of friends there and they are going to have fun. […] Me, I’m going to have to work double, then triple, to recover what she made me loseshe denounces.

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Unearthing Evidence

Owner of a hair salon, Jessica Hannan has a lot on her heart too. For ten years, Nathalie Ratthé was his client. Subsequently, she became his accountant. She also experienced the race for documents.

We asked him several times for our papers. She often had good reasons: “I’m due for my taxes, I’m going on a trip…” We could see that she didn’t want to give them to us.she maintains.

Little by little, Jessica began to have suspicions about the work of Nathalie Ratthé, whom she considered her second mother. After refusing to believe it for a long time, she came to think that her accountant was embezzling her money.

It’s a movie, you know, and you think you’re going to wake up tomorrow morning and everything will be sorted. But ultimately, it’s a feeling of betrayal. […] That’s what hurts the most.

This story plunged her into depression. Her partner Éric-Pierre Ménard helps her get up. And to dig up evidence.

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A computer consultant, he tries to recover as many documents as possible, particularly those from the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenu Québec.

Among her discoveries: the production of tax payment declarations that the accountant was supposed to do on Jessica’s behalf and which was not done for several years.

Additionally, the couple was surprised to find that Jessica had purchased an existing company, which is not illegal. However, Nathalie Ratthé never spoke about it to her client. Another surprise: the accountant was one of the directors of this company.

The former owners of the company were in fact Patrick Perron, Nathalie’s spouse, Nathalie Ratthé and her son Marc-Olivier Demers, who were already the directors of the company which was called […] Hangloose Racing Teamreveals Éric-Pierre Ménard.

Illegal seizure of documents

To obtain essential documents from the tax authorities, it is absolutely necessary to provide information included in reports held by Nathalie Ratthé.

Cynthia Courtois specifies thatwe do not have the right, as a professional [et] even as a non-professional accountant, to keep documents at our disposal […] that contain personal information to which an individual may wish to have access.

She adds that even with the new law 25, with the protection of personal information, everyone has the obligation to give documents to people.

The invoice asked Nathalie Ratthé for an interview, but she refused.

Jessica Hannan estimates she lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite the long hours of work invested to save her salon, she had to resign herself to declaring bankruptcy. This experience marked her with a hot iron. She doesn’t don’t wish that on your worst enemy.

As for Lucie Grégoire, she is sorry: It’s sad when you build trust with people and then get taken advantage of like this.