Ex-Sutton Quebec president sentenced to 5 years in prison for ordering arson attacks on competitors
Christophe Folla, president of Sutton Quebec (photo: Sutton Quebec)
The co-founder and former president of real estate company Sutton Quebec was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday to ordering a series of arson attacks on his competitors over several years.
Chrsitophe Folla, 71, pleaded guilty to one count each of arson and conspiracy at the courthouse in Saint-Jérome, Que. He was also ordered to pay $1.5 million as restitution to the victims as part of his sentencing.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Folla conspired with others and ordered the attacks out of "revenge" after feeling betrayed by his former business partners who left Sutton and founded Royal LePage Humania in 2017.
Folla paid tens of thousands of dollars for each fire he ordered and, according to the court document, he insisted that the fires were set when the buildings were believed to be unoccupied.
In all, the nine fires that were set on properties in the Laurentians caused about $6 million in damages.
Quebec provincial police were able to collaborate with an informant who had worked with Folla on the arsons. The person worked undercover and recorded Folla without his knowledge between Dec. 4, 2023 and Jan. 24, 2024.
"These conversations reveal that the accused wanted to set fire to the buildings belonging to the Léger-Bouvrette group so that they would become a total loss," the court document stated.
The court detailed some of the fires he was responsible for:
- Dec. 6, 2017: fire at 204 Principale, Saint-Sauveur - Royal LePage Humania ($54,736 in damages)
- Dec. 25, 2018: fire at 204 Principale, Saint-Sauveur - Royal LePage Humania ($1,945,000 in damages)
- Jan. 24, 2019: fire at 228 boul. Curé-Labelle, Sainte-Thérèse - Royal LePage Humania ($854,000 in damages)
- Feb. 26, 2021: fire at 286 rue Principale, Saint-Sauveur - Remax Bonjour (burned by mistake) ($2,500,000 in damages)
- June 6, 2021: fire at 204 rue Principale, Saint-Sauveur - Royal LePage Humania ($162,000 in damages)
- Nov. 14 and 15, 2022: fire at 228 boul. Curé Labelle, Sainte-Thérèse - Royal LePage Humania ($500,000 in damages)
- Nov. 14 and 15, 2022: fire at 204 rue Principale, Saint-Sauveur - Royal LePage Humania ($50,000 in damages)
Folla co-founded the Quebec branch of Sutton in 1995. The company cut ties with him after his arrest on Jan. 24.
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