A veteran Sûreté du Quebec officer was found guilty of defrauding his employer, after he was caught traveling the world while he was supposed to be at home, unable to work.
In 2009, SQ investigator Nicolas Landry was placed on extended leave after he was diagnosed with depression. He told psychiatrists he was not able to leave his home or carry out desk duties.
Landry was sent home and was receiving his full salary until a fellow officer noticed something wasn't right.
In 2014 the second officer notified management that Landry had been running a couple side businesses. During his paid time off he was managing his wife's travel agencies, generating millions of dollars in income and traveling the world.
When he was re-evaluated that same year, Landry said he was still in no shape to return to work.
The provincial police department launched an investigation to get to the bottom of it all.
Documents discovered in a raid of Landry's home showed that he had been managing the travel agencies at a very high level and was in constant contact with employees and business associates.
Landry was eventually charged with fraud for illegally collecting his salary from the provincial police department.
Over the course of his trial his team maintained he did nothing wrong because he had never been questioned about working on the side.
The judge did not agree.
"We had numerous witnesses in that file, so we always thought we had enough evidence to prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt and that's mainly what the judge concludes, so we're satisfied by the decision," prosecutor Patrick Cardinal told CTV Montreal.
Landry could now be fired from his job as a police officer.
"Considering the fact it's a fraud against the employer, that is an aggravating factor," said Cardinal.
Alongside his fraud trial, Landry filed a $2 million lawsuit against the prosecution and Sûreté du Quebec claiming he was wrongfully targeted by the investigation. The future of the civil trial is not known.
A sentencing date in the fraud trial has not yet been set.