A sixty-year-old man who set fire to his house and fraudulently claimed $700,000 from his insurer has prepared his attack so badly he is now penniless.
“His contradictory and implausible statements are so numerous and so important that they allow the court to conclude that Réjean Lallier had fraudulent intent,” concluded judge Sébastien Vaillancourt at the Montreal courthouse recently.
The case goes back to 2020, a year after Lallier became a widow. He then had to take care of his disabled son alone. His financial situation was precarious and his building in Mascouche was in poor condition.
“He is overwhelmed, even discouraged by the weight of the family’s financial administration and the fact that he has to take care of his only son,” said the magistrate.
The backyard of Réjean Lallier’s residence, after the fire.
Photo provided by the court
Suspicious reactions
It was then that Lallier went to the toilet in the basement of his residence one summer evening. He said he brought his cigarettes, a lighter and “a candle in case there was a power outage.” And when he left the bathroom, he probably “forgot to put out and put back the candle” that he left on a small shelf.
The toilet where Réjean Lallier took his cigarettes and a candle that he said he forgot to put out
Photo provided by the court
Lallier said he went there with his son to buy a sandwich because of the night’s trouble. It was then 10 pm
This escape, in which the duo made several stops, lasted two hours. When they returned home, they noticed smoke in the house, but unfortunately, Lallier said they didn’t have a cell phone to call 911.
“Because the relationship with his neighbor is tense, he decides to drive to the convenience store to call 911,” the judge said, noting that Lallier nevertheless passed two convenience stores before finally stopping at a third .
Firefighters were able to control the fire, and the damage was mainly concentrated in the basement.
Ceiling of the basement of Réjean Lallier’s residence, after the fire.
Photo provided by the court
Not believable
But that didn’t stop Lallier from contacting his insurer to claim $700,000, alleging, among other things, that he lost $250,000 worth of property in the fire.
“His daughter prepared the document that sets out the value of the contents of the building,” reveals the judge, who rejected the document, as did the Beneva insurance company, which found something fishy and dirty in it that Lallier quickly rejected to compensate.
The bathroom in the basement at Réjean Lallier’s house, after the fire.
Photo provided by the court
Faced with this situation, Lallier filed a civil lawsuit, claiming it was an accidental fire, especially since he was never criminally charged. His claims, full of contradictions, eventually subsided.
“The proven facts […] allowing the court to determine that he probably set the house on fire on purpose,” the magistrate concluded.
The bathroom in the basement at Réjean Lallier’s house, after the fire.
Photo provided by the court
So Lallier found himself with his mouth in the water and even worse, the judge ruled that he will be the one paying the legal costs, as well as the costs of the experts retained in the case.