Disbarred lawyer's frauds were devastating betrayals, victims tell judge

Victims of disbarred Ottawa-area lawyer and fraudster Joseph Stéphane Langlois filed victim impact statements in court Tuesday during his sentencing hearing, saying the financial and emotional toll of his crimes has been weighing heavily on them for a decade or more.

Sitting less than a metre from Langlois, his ex-wife and mother of their three children Sophie-Anne Charron told Superior Court Justice Alexandre Kaufman in French that decisions were made behind her back and her signature was forged multiple times, leaving her owing exorbitant sums of money to people she didn't know, and forcing her into bankruptcy and costing her her business.

"This fraud wasn't just an economic crime. It was a human betrayal. Behind these numbers there was a wife, a family and children. The damage is not only measured in money, but also in tears, pain and silence," she said.

"My children saw their father disappear and come back arrogantly, giving them expensive gifts. I managed their daily lives alone while he travelled to Paris, Dubai, Thailand and the Dominican Republic," she recounted. "Langlois dipped into my children's college fund [taking $31,000]. He compromised their future."

Judge now deciding fit sentence

On June 16, the day his trial was set to begin in Ottawa, Langlois agreed to plead guilty to four counts of fraud over $5,000 and eight counts of uttering, possessing or trafficking in a forged document. The charges had been laid by Ontario Provincial Police in 2022, after more than $3 million went missing from two mixed trust accounts at his firm.

As part of the plea deal, lawyers for the Crown and his defence jointly proposed a sentence of six years in prison.

Further sentencing arguments are expected in October. The judge is not bound to the six-year joint position, but it is common for judges to accept them.

Ten other victim impact statements were read in court Tuesday.

'It was about controlling me'

Monica Brown and Shawn Kelly wrote in a statement that they were forced to carry the stolen money as debt, creating chronic stress. Participating in the nearly 10-year legal process "has shaken our trust in the legal profession," they said.

Marcela Masci Nebenzahl said Langlois came into her life in 2016, when she had just separated from her husband and was raising a two-year-old on her own. Within two months he was talking about marriage and a life in Brazil together.

As she was finalizing her divorce, she said, Langlois convinced her not to pursue her share of the family home, costing her about $75,000.

"It was about controlling me," Nebenzahl told court in English. Then she found out she was pregnant, and that the baby had a congenital condition. That's when she started to hear negative things about Langlois through his friends. Days after she confronted him he vanished, she said.

"Stéphane didn't just lie. He used my trust and he manipulated me, and he hurt me. He took away my peace, my sense of safety, my stability," Nebenzahl said.

'Disgust, rage, discouragement'

Jocelyn Levac and his ex suffered the most financially, losing more than $730,000. So far they have been reimbursed approximately $480,000.

He told court in French that he's felt "disgust, rage, discouragement" and a sense of injustice for the past 10 years.

Levac said he was able to keep his farm only because of his second job. He was sometimes working more than 100 hours per week, which was tough on his health. The exhaustion and subsequent lack of concentration led to an accident with a grain roller that left him with 50 stitches on his hand, he told court.

"For nine years I keep my farm just by surviving, not making even a profit. So it was tough for me at nights. I just couldn't sleep because of the stress that I had," he said in an interview outside the courthouse.

He hopes the victims end up getting some money back, because a Law Society fund and Langlois's insurers didn't cover everything.