MONTREAL – A former Quebec union boss admits he falsified bills to inflate his own expenses but his lawyer says the actions weren’t fraud because the money he received went back to workers.
Speaking during closing arguments at Jocelyn Dupuis’ fraud trial on Friday, Jean-Daniel Debkoski said his client intended no malice.
The charges against Dupuis relate to alleged offences between December 2007 and November 2008, a period in which he filed 43 expense accounts totalling $225,000.
READ MORE: Expensive meals dominate Quebec fraud trial
Dupuis was director-general of the Quebec Federation of Labour’s construction wing between 1997 and 2008.
Debkoski says that while Dupuis’s actions may not be morally justifiable, they do not constitute a crime because there was no criminal intent and no harm was caused to anyone.
The lawyer adds the union executive was aware of how Dupuis operated and did not question his practices.
Comments