MONTREAL—Three men convicted of stealing $18 million worth of maple syrup should face stiff penalties for their part in the scheme, the Crown said Friday during sentencing arguments. Jurors found Richard Vallieres, Raymond Vallieres and Etienne St-Pierre guilty last November in connection with the theft of 2,700 tons of syrup from a warehouse in Quebec between August 2011 and July 2012. Beauchamp-Laliberte said Richard Vallieres should get eight years in jail and a $9.4-million fine on top of paying back his share of the value of the syrup. Beauchamp-Laliberte said Richard Vallieres’ lawyer suggested a jail term of three to five years for his client, who was convicted of theft, fraud and receiving stolen goods. Roughly 300 people in the maple syrup industry in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and the northern U.S. were questioned.

Source: thestar January 28, 2017 01:22 UTC