Quebec construction boss Catania and Co. face 989 tax fraud charges

Quebec construction entrepreneur Paolo Catania, his company and his associates are facing 989 charges of tax fraud laid by Revenue Quebec and UPAC, Quebec’s anti-corruption squad.

This news comes in the wake of yesterday’s news that Tony Accurso, another construction boss in Quebec, is facing 928 charges.

Catania, his company Construction Frank Catania and Associates, and a number of individuals and corporations are accused of making false declarations and of falsely obtaining tax credits between May 1, 2005 and June 30, 2009.

They face fines totalling more than $12.5 million and could also be subject to jail time.

UPAC spokeswoman Anne-Frédérick Laurence said those accused could be facing a maximum of two years in jail per charge.

Current and former administrators and employees André Fortin, Pasquale Fedele, David Chartrand, Martin D’Aoust and Pascal Patrice, as well as six other corporations and their administrators, are accused of setting up a tax-evasion strategy based on fake invoicing.

Revenue Quebec said the fake invoicing was done with the intent of helping Catania’s company get tax breaks it wasn’t actually entitled to receive. Laurence of UPAC said it was similar to the alleged Accurso tax evasion scheme detailed yesterday.

"It's a big week for Revenue Quebec and UPAC," Laurence said.

"They're major operations."

Construction Frank Catania and Associates, Catania himself and Fortin are each facing 149 charges and fines totalling more than $1.5 million each.

They’re all expected to appear at the Longueuil courthouse on Sept. 12 to face their charges.