Canadian man loses legal battle to keep his secret million-dollar stash

A Canadian man has lost his 16-year legal battle to recover more than C$1.2 million he had hidden in strange places around his home.

On December 1, 2009, police visited the rural property of Marcel Breton on the outskirts of Thunder Bay, a city in northwestern Ontario, searching for an illegal handgun. according to court documents.

There they made an unusual discovery: $15,000 worth of Canadian bills in the living room’s underfloor heating ducts, about $32,000 hidden in places around the garage, and $1.2 million worth of Canadian bills in a rubber tub buried in the floor under the garage.

In total, the stash was valued at US$1.19 million in 2009.

Police also found a variety of drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy, and told Canadian media at the time they were “stunned.”

Breton was charged with and initially convicted of various crimes, including possession of the proceeds of crime. However, at the retrial, he successfully argued that the search of his property was illegal and was acquitted.

But then came the issue of what to do with all that money.

On Monday, Ontario’s appeals court upheld a 2023 ruling that ruled the lion’s share of the money should go to the government.

The appeals court noted that trial judge Judge Bruce Fitzpatrick noted that “it is unusual for the average person to bury such a large amount of money in tubs beneath his property.”

The judge also noted that the most common type of banknote seen in the packages was the 20 Canadian dollar bill, which is the most common currency associated with drug dealing.

It was also stated in the documents that Breton did not declare any income to the Canada Revenue Agency between 2001 and 2008.

Fitzpatrick also did not accept Breton’s reasons for why he had so much money (whether he won it in the lottery or casino or got it from his vehicle repair business).

The trial judge then ordered most of the money to be given to the government; This decision was also approved by the appeals court.

University of Calgary law professor Sanaa Ahmed said the case was an example of “legal hair-splitting.”

“Faced with such facts, courts will often find ways to justify seizing funds and thereby ‘punishing’ defendants, even if they would otherwise be acquitted,” he told CNN in an email.

“Unfortunately, as a society, we have become increasingly comfortable breaking certain rules to catch the so-called ‘bad guys,’” Ahmed added. “But we forget that we set these rules precisely to avoid the subjective, normative judgments of those who find themselves in judicial office.”

Michelle Gallant, a law professor at the University of Manitoba, said that in this case, the onus is on Breton to prove that the money was obtained legally, adding that “cash is the currency of illegal drugs.”

Gallant said, “What legitimate source could lie under the dollars stuffed into a barrel and buried? Why did you bury it? At least you would deposit it in the bank with interest every day.”

But for Breton, this wasn’t all bad news. The appeals court upheld Fitzpatrick’s earlier ruling that Breton should keep C$15,000 found in the home’s vents because the judge could not rule out the possibility that the money was obtained legally. In today’s money, that’s worth just over $10,600.

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