A police officer from Terrebonne is facing fraud charges related to the Chomedey condo complex where he lived.
Lt. Daniel Fortier is accused of defrauding his neighbours of nearly $200,000, money allegedly taken from the condo fees he was in charge of administrating.
Fortier was arrested last week by the Laval police after the alleged fraud was exposed by Fortier's neighbours.
The officer was once the chairman of the board of the condo complex he lived in on Ile du Tremblay in the Chomedey sector of Laval.
His position meant he administered the condo fees from all 323 condos in the building at 2555 Havre des Iles.
Eventually, the secretary of the condo owners’ association expressed concerns about the way the money was used.
One owner, Jean-Claude Roy, decided to dig into it and found a list of bizarre expenses ranging from restaurants to football tickets to gifts and lavish parties that had nothing to do with Fortier's duties as an administrator.
Roy said he felt betrayed. People trusted Fortier because of his position as a police lieutenant.
“We're a bunch of old people here, older than the average guy on the street, and it's easy to take advantage of older people. I can say if I'd been 50 years old it would never have passed the threshold. I would have been able to see it, but when you get to 75-76, you trust a police officer,” said the whistleblower.
Roy said he was the one who notified Laval police, sparking a lengthy investigation.
Terrebonne police said Fortier is currently considered on sick leave, and said they won't make a decision on his future until he returns to work.
The Journal de Montreal reports that the condo association filed a $223,000 lawsuit against Fortier and two other co-administrators who may also have spent condo fees for personal reasons.
