Three men sentenced for stealing $18 million worth of maple syrup in Quebec

Three men convicted in connection with the theft of $18 million worth of maple syrup in Quebec were sentenced on Friday to between two and eight years. (Photo: QUOI Media Group/Flickr)

MONTREAL — Three men convicted in connection with the theft of $18 million worth of maple syrup in Quebec were sentenced on Friday to between two and eight years.

Superior Court Justice Raymond Pronovost sentenced Richard Vallieres to eight years in prison, confiscated $606,500 from him and fined him another $9.4 million.

Vallieres, who was convicted of theft, fraud and receiving stolen goods, will have to pay back the money over a 10-year period or risk having his sentence increased by six years.

The other two men, Raymond Vallieres and Etienne St-Pierre, were each sentenced to jail terms of two years minus one day, to be served in the community, as well as three years probation.

Raymond Vallieres will be required to pay $9,840 within one year, or go to jail for six months, while St-Pierre must pay $1.3 million over 15 years or be imprisoned for five years.

A fourth man charged in the case, Jean Lord, was acquitted.

The sentencing proceedings took place in a courtroom in Trois-Rivieres, Que., 140 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

Jurors found the three men guilty last November in connection with the theft of 2,700 tons of syrup worth $18 million from a warehouse in Quebec between August 2011 and July 2012.

The case made international headlines after the sweet stuff was reported missing following a routine inventory check at a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Que.

An investigation was launched after the barrels of syrup were found to have been drained and replaced with water.

Officers from the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement helped Quebec police in the investigation.