Retired Longueuil court judge charged with fraud over records

A retired municipal court judge is facing criminal charges alleging he produced false records regarding hours worked for the City of Longueuil.

Quebec's anticorruption commissioner alleges Jean Herbert committed fraud and produced false records between July 2016 and March 2019, invoicing the city of Longueuil for more than $38,000 for hours he never worked.

Herbert had been a judge for 24 years before the alleged fraud began.

The first date of his case at the Longueuil courthouse is scheduled for March 26.

According to court records, the City of Longueuil began civil proceedings against Herbert in 2021. It is suing the retired judge for $38,576.

The same allegations were heard by the Conseil de la magistrature, which ruled on Dec. 13, 2022, that he committed ethical misconduct by billing Longueuil for hours he never worked.

The tribunal's decision described how municipal court judges were, at the time, able to bill a municipality significantly more if they worked more than two hours on a given day. The amount increased again if they worked more than five hours.

“It appears that on 162 occasions, between July 1, 2016, and Feb. 4, 2019, Mr. Herbert overestimated his working hours and overcharged the city,” the tribunal wrote.

“This overvaluation had a monetary impact in his favour in the amount of nearly $40,000.”

The anticorruption commissioner is a specialized police force that co-ordinates investigations to prevent and combat corruption in the public sector.

The commissioner directs and co-ordinates the investigations conducted by the permanent anticorruption unit.