SQ officer ran travel agencies while ‘sick’
Court hears he owned four companies
MONTREAL • A Sûreté du Québec investigator was convicted of fraud on Monday after a judge determined he lied in order to continue collecting a salary while claiming to be too depressed to do police work — even though he was very busy running four travel agencies.
Nicolas Landry, 43, was an investigator with the SQ’s major crimes division when, in 2009, he took a leave while claiming he was too depressed and anxious to do police work. His leave extended to 2014 when he convinced a psychiatrist he should be allowed to collect his full salary until he retired without having to do any police work.
The SQ learned he was very active as the owner and administrator of four travel agencies based in the Montérégie region.
Quebec Court Judge André Perreault focused heavily on evaluations psychiatrist Gérald Leblanc did in the months before the SQ launched their investigation.
He determined that Landry defrauded the SQ during several months in 2014 when he collected more than $40,000 in salary. Perreault said there was evidence Landry committed fraud for a much longer period, but he limited his decision to the 2014 timeframe for legal reasons.
During his psychiatric evaluations, conducted in 2013 and 2014, Landry told Leblanc he found very little pleasure in anything he did. He said he mostly stayed at home, had difficulty concentrating and would only leave his house to drive his kids to their activities and sometimes participate in them.
A mountain of evidence proved otherwise.
The Crown called several witnesses from the travel industry who said it was apparent to them that Landry was very active as the owner and operator of the travel agencies and even acquired two agencies while on leave.
The witnesses said that while Landry sometimes referred to his now ex-spouse, Isabelle Malorni, as the owner of some of his companies, it was clear he was making all of the business decisions.
Landry also told Leblanc he never travelled but it was clear he had taken several trips abroad as part of his work in the travel industry. That included trips to Dubai to see if hotels he was offering in travel packages lived up to their billing.
He also went on a cruise with his family, in 2013, at a time when he claimed to Leblanc that he hardly left his home.
As part of their investigation, the SQ sent two undercover agents — posing as a couple looking to take a trip — to a presentation put on by Landry’s father. The presentation showcased highlights of a package offered by one of Landry’s companies.
Landry used a computer during the presentation and the undercover agents managed to strike up a conversation with him.
It was apparent to the agents that Landry was the boss of the operation but, when they asked for his business card, he said he had none and suggested they take one from his father.
The investigation revealed Landry took other steps to hide the fact he was running things at his travel agencies.
Among the steps listed by Perreault was that Landry was known to work long hours from home with several computers installed in a home office and yet he was rarely seen inside his business offices.
He also gave an interview with a reporter covering the travel industry about one of his agencies and, when it was over, Landry asked the journalist to attribute all of the information he provided for the article to Malorni.
Both sides agreed to return to court in November to set a schedule for a sentence hearing.