Quebec woman pleads guilty to tax fraud charges

Longueuil resident Christine Bieri pleaded guilty yesterday to tax fraud charges before the Court of Quebec in Longueuil. She received a conditional sentence of eighteen months.

A Canada Revenue Agency investigation revealed that, for the 2003 to 2010 tax years, Bieri advised and helped 13 individuals avoid or try to avoid paying more than $120,000 in income tax by claiming inadmissible expenses to reduce or cancel their taxable income. Court documents say this scheme was based on an argument popular with tax protester movements.

The documents note the activities for which Bieri was charged occurred between July 2009 and June 2010; during that period, she acted as a facilitator for Christian Lachapelle, a tax protester scheme promoter–court documents say Lachapelle pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges on October 22, 2015 and was sentenced to four years in prison.

The CRA warns all Canadians to beware of tax protesters.

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