former sutton quebec president admits he ordered nine fires that caused $6 million in damage
christophe folla was sentenced to a five-year prison term with the possibility of an additional five years if he doesn't pay $2.5 million.
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christophe folla, the co-founder of groupe sutton, is seen in a 2015 photo.
via groupe sutton
christophe folla, the co-founder of the real-estate firm sutton quebec, admitted on wednesday that he ordered nine fires intended to harm his competitors while he sought revenge for perceived slights. folla, 71, of westmount, appeared before quebec court michel belhumeur wednesday afternoon at the st-jérôme courthouse through a video conference connecting the courtroom to a detention centre in st-jérôme where he was detained since his arrest earlier this year. he pleaded guilty to being part of a conspiracy to set the fires, including a few in st-sauveur, and an arson charge.
“i plead guilty,” folla said calmly twice when the charges were read to him.
at times his right hand supported his chin as he leaned forward to listen to what was being said. a folded white piece of paper could be seen peeking out of a pocket on the chest of his grey sweatshirt.
he admitted the nine fires he ordered caused a total of $6 million in damage.
according to a summary of facts read into the court record by one of folla’s lawyers, folla was president of sutton quebec when two people who had a franchise under the sutton quebec banner decided to leave his firm and founded a rival company.
the defence lawyer said that between 2017 and 2022, folla sought revenge and recruited people ready to set fire to buildings owned by his new competitor.
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“the accused spent several tens of thousands of dollars for each fire that he ordered,” the attorney said. “the accused always said that he wanted the fires to be set at hours when the buildings would be unoccupied.”
the first fire was set on dec. 6, 2017, at a building owned by the rival firm on principale st. in st-sauveur. it caused more than $54,000 in damage.
arsonists, or an arsonist, returned to the same building on christmas day in 2018 and set fire to it again. this time the fire caused $1.9 million in damage.
the third fire at a building in ste-thérèse caused $854,000 in damage.
someone screwed up big time when the fourth fire was ordered. the wrong building, owned by a different real-estate firm, was torched, also on principale st. in st-sauveur, and it caused more than $2 million in damage.
on june 6, 2021, a fire was set at the site of the first two blazes in st-sauveur and that caused $160,000 in damage.
someone who was part of the conspiracy was convinced to collaborate with the sûreté du québec and the person secretly recorded conversations they had with folla during 2023 and 2024.
the conversations revealed that folla wanted to burn down the buildings owned by the rival firm to a point where they would be considered a total loss, the defence attorney said.
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andré chenier, one of the people who lost money as a result of the fires, testified on wednesday. he called folla, a man he was a partner with in the past, “a proud man, a winner” but also “a narcissist.”
he said he lost money when a building he part owned in st-sauveur was set on fire.
“i didn’t sleep that night, and the next morning i went to my office and there i see mr. folla standing outside,” chenier said. “i was surprised because he never walked through the village outside. he was always in his car.”
the businessman said he told the sûreté du québec to focus on folla right away.
he later attended a meeting with notaries and partners in the building and said he wanted out of the investment.
“i told them that mr. folla would never stop, that unless someone stopped him he would continue,” he said.
folla asked to appear through a video conference because of his health problems. he said he experienced pain each time guards brought him to the courthouse in the past.
“mr. folla was identified as the principal person who ordered the fires, the totality of the fires,” prosecutor caroline buist told the judge during wednesday’s hearing.
she noted that other people have been charged in the investigation into the blazes and that folla pleaded guilty early in the case.
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the judge agreed with a common suggestion on a sentence made by lawyers on both sides of the case. the judge noted the guilty pleas avoided having to hold a trial that was expected to last up to seven weeks.
folla was sentenced to a five-year prison term and was ordered to pay a total of $2.5 million, including $1.5 million to a long list of people and companies who lost money in the fires. if he does not pay the $2.5 million by dec. 4, 2027, he will have to serve another five-year prison term.
at least one of the charges folla faced calls for a maximum 14-year sentence.
folla co-founded sutton quebec in 1995 and built it into one of the largest real-estate firms in the province, with 10 franchises and 1,500 brokers conducting 22,000 transactions a year. at the time of his arrest, folla was the owner of the balmoral golf club in morin-heights.
sutton quebec severed its ties with folla after his arrest.
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