Laval police arrested three individuals who allegedly participated in fraud totaling $8.9 million using data stolen from Desjardins, from September 2018 to January 2019. A fourth is wanted and an arrest warrant has been issued for him. against, at the end of an investigation called “Project Glaive”.
The individuals arrested are Ayoub Kourdal, 36, Imad Jbara, 33, and El Mehdi Ahlafi, 36.
The first two are accused of fraud over $5,000, trafficking in identifying information, possession of identifying information and identity theft. They are due to appear today.
The third individual was released on a promise to appear. According to the denunciations, he is accused of possessing identifying information for the purpose of committing fraud.
The investigation did not recover any embezzled funds. Laval police reported that one of the suspects was in possession of “a list of 1.6 million Quebecers.”
According to the alleged scheme, the suspects used data stolen from Desjardins to change passwords and access accounts through the Accès D online platform. Once authenticated, they were able to “fraudulently appropriate funds,” explains Jean-François Rousselle, deputy director of criminal investigations, who led the press conference.
As part of the operation, investigators carried out seven searches not only in Laval, but also in Montreal and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, in the western suburbs of Quebec. The police thus got their hands on 70 different “computer items”.
The mass of data to be analyzed also explains why this development occurs more than five years after the start of the investigation, in January 2019. “Seventy devices is an incredible mass of data to digest,” emphasizes Jean-François Rousselle.
“Fraud files resulted in a complex, large-scale investigation, which required the involvement of the Sûreté du Québec and the Serious Crime and Special Affairs Bureau of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions,” adds the police officer.
The main investigation into the theft of data at Desjardins itself was mainly carried out by the Sûreté du Québec from June 2019. However, it began at the Laval police, after bank draft fraud carried out using information stolen from Desjardins, starting in December 2018.
Laval investigators continued the operation focusing on the network of fraudsters who were the subject of Wednesday’s arrests. The names revealed today had never appeared in court documents related to data theft investigations until now.
The arrests come almost five years after the revelation of the massive data theft at Desjardins. Until today, no criminal charges had been filed.
On June 20, 2019, the Movement first announced that data on 2.9 million customers had been stolen. It subsequently revised this figure upwards several times.
In December 2020, the personal information protection commissions submitted damning reports on the management of confidential information within the financial institution. According to their findings, the theft potentially affected 9.7 million individuals and businesses.
A former Desjardins employee, Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, is suspected of having himself gotten his hands on data concerning millions of Desjardins clients. A private lender, Jean-Loup Leullier-Masse, then allegedly bought them, before forwarding them to several other individuals, including a group of brokers from Quebec and fraudsters from Laval.
After collective actions, an amicable settlement of 200 million was reached between Dejardins and victims, who are starting to receive their compensation.
