The former president of the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec and his spouse defrauded him for eight years and about $200,000, a seniors home that welcomes retired priests, our Bureau of Investigation found.
Claude Gauvin and Lucie Couturier have long been a popular couple in the Quebec area.
He was a partner at KPMG and then at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, a former president of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce and a member of the prestigious Board of Directors over the years.
She is the general manager of the Residence Cardinal-Vachon, built by the Diocese of Quebec to accommodate retirees.
Photo by Stevens LeBlanc
The establishment, where Lucie Couturier was general manager until her dismissal, welcomed about 200 retirees in Beauport.
In 2015, a photo was published The Journal of Quebec After Gauvin proposed to his girlfriend at the end of his speech at the opening cocktail of the Ice Hotel, he was all smiles.
But in February 2019, they discreetly handed over $207,752.12 to Residence Cardinal-Vachon, who sued them in civil proceedings after they fired Lucie Couturier for “false and dishonest” extortion.
The details of this no-admission settlement remain confidential, and the residency allegations have never been proven in court.
Additionally, effective Sept. 29, the two lovebirds were charged with official fraud and theft over $5,000, charges that carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if convicted.
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In its civil suit, the residence accused Cardinal-Vachon, Claude Gauvin and Lucie Couturier of living large by embezzling the amounts and services billed to the residence.
the purchase of a new terrace, appliances, furniture and a wireless audio system for their luxury million-dollar home in the Lebourgneuf district at $75,000; The list of sums summed by the pair is long (See below)
Photo by Stevens LeBlanc
The couple’s private residence in Lebourgneuf, worth nearly $1 million, was seized before the verdict in August 2018.
Still according to the civil suit, Lucy Couturier went so far as to pay her spouse more than $100,000 on behalf of the seniors’ home for professional services, but the organization’s board of directors believed he provided these services on a voluntary basis.
After discovering what it called a “fraudulent scheme,” the Cardinal-Vachon residence listed several irregularities in bills paid over the years.
Thus, she realized that her building paid for a propane gas fryer instead of natural gas. The propane fryer in question was reportedly delivered to the couple’s residence.
She also discovered that she had paid more than $35,000 to repair a solarium with aluminum construction, while the solarium she had had wood construction.
The residence sued Albo Electric Inc. for more than $65,000. And its president, Alexandre Beaudoin, billed her to work at Gauvin et Couturier. The case was also settled through a confidential settlement in January 2020.
At the time of this writing, the accused couple had not responded to our invitations for comment.
– In collaboration with Philippe Langlois, Mary Christine Trotter and Nicholas Silent
Photo by Stevens LeBlanc
According to Residence Cardinal-Vachon, the couple’s chalet in Saint-Brigitte-de-Laval (which they sold last May) would also have benefited from the alleged embezzlement.
In its civil suit against Claude Gauvin and Lucie Couturier, Residence Cardinale-Vachon specifically alleged fraud by paying for the following purchases, which could have been used instead for the couple’s personal needs.
- $75,769 for Construction of open terrace In the main residence of Gauvin and Couturier.
- $12,451.79 for Purchase of 50 light fixtures.
According to Residence, the president of Albo Electric admitted it was a “false invoice issued at the request of Lucy Couturier.” Personal work” at a personal residence or at a cottage The Gauvin-Couturier couple. - $35,526.23 for Structure and curtains of the solariumFinally, curtains are installed in a single-family residence.
- $5806.24 adjusting A so-called “heat disorder”. In one of the apartments in the seniors’ residence.
However, this accommodation was “never affected by any problem” and was an invoice for work at Gauvin and Couturier’s personal residence. - $7428.26 for Various outdoor or garden furniture Instead “Couturier and Gauvin used in the same family residence […] and/or secondary residence”.
- $1207.24 for Propane gas fryer “Distributed to a single family residence” of Gauvin and Couturier.
- $673.52 for Wireless audio system It ultimately served the personal needs of Gauvin and the couturier.
- $3000 for An aluminum trailer and adapter Bought by Lucy Couturier for her spouse.
Civil and Criminal
Lucie Couturier and Claude Gauvin paid a confidential settlement of more than $207,000 in 2019 to settle a civil lawsuit brought against them by the Cardinal-Vachon Residence “without admitting any liability.”
However, the couple did not escape criminal charges, which were finally filed three and a half years later.
However, these are two completely different jurisdictions. This time, the public prosecutor has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that fraud and theft have occurred.
who Claude Gauvin
- 75 years
- A member of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec, he chaired the board between 2003 and 2005.
- Recently retired, he was a partner in the Quebec office of the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton firm.
- He was president of the Quebec Chamber of Commerce in the early 2000s.
- He has served on the boards of directors of the Hôtel de Glace, the Quebec Carnival, the Orchester Symphonique de Quebec, the Laval University Foundation, the Museum Foundation of Civilization, and many others. National Arts Center Corporation.
who Lucy Couturier
- 62 years old
- Executive Director and Director of Nursing at Residence Cardinal-Vachon in Quebec City since March 2010
- The establishment in Beauport was “created by the Diocese of Quebec to accommodate priests, but also any autonomous retired person”, its website indicates. It has 200 seats.
- Sacked in August 2018 for “usurping the powers conferred on him”, “defrauding his rights” and “false and dishonest acts”. At the time, she was earning an annual salary of about $125,000.
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