Richard Vallières had a sticky plan to make millions. His plan? Steal Quebec's precious maple syrup reserves and drain them of their sweet, liquid gold, and sell it on the black market. Sounds simple, right? Well, as it turns out, his sticky fingers didn't quite escape the long arm of the law.
The mastermind behind the so-called "Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist" was so sweet on the idea of getting rich, he thought he could syrup the Federation of Maple Syrup Producers out of their millions. The only problem? He didn’t account for the syrup inspection. And the fact that you know, stealing nearly 18 million dollars(CAD) worth of syrup is a little more noticeable than you may think.
Vallières and his accomplices spent years siphoning syrup from thousands of barrels in warehouses, replacing the sticky substance with water—because nothing says "I’m stealing syrup" quite like "watered-down" criminal activity. The Federation, which controls 80% of the world’s maple syrup (yes, this is a real thing), only inspects their reserve once a year, I guess they didn’t think anyone would drain the syrup when no one was looking.
But alas, in 2012, an inspector noticed some barrels were as light as air, and suddenly the Federation was in a sticky situation. It was like someone had poured out the syrup and tried to cover it up with water. By the time the police raided Vallières and his syrup-stealing bandits, they had already moved the syrup across the border to New Brunswick, where it was packaged, sold to unsuspecting buyers, and probably already enjoyed on pancakes by some very oblivious customers.
Fast forward to 2016, and Vallières was caught and sentenced to eight years in prison, with a fine so steep it was enough to give anyone heartburn—$9.4 million (CAD). But Vallières wasn’t bitter about it (ok, maybe just a little). He appealed, hoping to reduce the fine to just $1 million(CAD), but Canada’s Supreme Court was having none of it. They decided that if you steal syrup, you should pay for it—both with your freedom and your wallet. The court ruled that Vallières had to pay the full C$9 million or face six more years behind bars.
Vallières, who had been trying to turn things around and even got day parole, had his plans dashed. In his parole hearing, he admitted that his syrup-stealing scheme was partly motivated by revenge. You see, the Federation had fined him C$1.8 million back in 2007 for selling syrup illegally. He wasn’t just in it for the money, he was also getting back at them for his house being seized. Talk about holding a grudge... and holding the syrup hostage!
Now, with the court decision final, Vallières must find a way to pay back the entire amount or face extra time in the slammer. His lawyer says he’s "disappointed" by the decision, but Vallières may want to think twice before taking on any more syrup-related schemes—after all, it seems like his crime has really poured on the trouble.
In the end, the moral of the story is clear: crime may not pay, but maple syrup sure does… just don’t steal it!