A group of Quebec business owners, including the owner of two Montreal-based car rental companies, are allegedly behind an elaborate criminal network involved in millions of dollars worth of fraud and car theft.
The allegations appear in civil court documents filed this month. The documents describe Yaacoub Sarraf, a businessman who is said to split his time between Montreal and Dubai, as the head of an organization that obtained millions of dollars worth of olive oil, surgical masks and, notably, luxury cars, through fraud and theft.
A multi-year Montreal police investigation into the group has also identified Habib Coudsi, the owner of Citycar rental and Coudicar rental, two car rental companies, as a key part of the network, according to the court documents.
Coudsi allegedly arranged the transport of stolen and fraudulently obtained vehicles to the Port of Montreal, where they were shipped overseas, and used his companies to launder the proceeds.
The documents detail how Montreal police began investigating the alleged fraud network in June 2021. On April 18, 2023, after a lengthy surveillance operation, officers raided the suspected headquarters of the network: a nondescript garage just off of Highway 40 in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood — home to Coudsi’s car rental businesses.
There, police found multiple car key programming machines, which they say are often associated with car theft.
The garage was allegedly used for storing stolen or fraudulently obtained goods, supervising operations to transport stolen vehicles to the Port of Montreal and as a location to plan and co-ordinate the forging of documents.
Also on April 18, 2023, officers raided Coudsi’s home, a mansion on Gouin Boulevard in the city’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, purchased for $2.2 million in 2022. There, they found cash and luxury goods, including a Rolex watch. The house, the cash and the luxury goods were proof, according to the court documents, that Coudsi was living well beyond his reported income.
Quebec’s attorney general says this luxury home on Gouin Boulevard was bought with the proceeds of crime and is tied to an elaborate fraud and theft network. (CBC)
The court documents from which the allegations stem are tied to civil lawsuits filed by Quebec’s attorney general asking for the confiscation of the Gouin mansion, Coudsi’s Rolex and cash, and the Saint-Michel garage, arguing they were either obtained with proceeds of crime or used as an instrument of crime.
The allegations have not yet been tested in court. Neither Coudsi nor Sarraf have been charged criminally. They have not yet filed a defense or indicated whether they intend to contest the lawsuits.
Coudsi’s lawyer, Marc Labelle, said Coudsi had not yet been served with the lawsuit and was unaware of its contents.
“He has no comment to make. He has not seen it. He has received nothing,” he said.
“There have been no charges laid against him.”
CBC was unable to find a contact for Sarraf or his lawyer.
How the network is alleged to work
Evidence collected by the police, and referenced in the court documents, details how the alleged fraud network operated.
First, a member of the network contacted a company to place a large order using either a fraudulently obtained credit card or a fraudulent company account. Initial calls were usually made from inside a moving vehicle.
Once the order was placed, the network used transport companies, usually hired from a third-party website, to pick up the goods and bring them to a second transport company operated by the alleged fraudsters, who then brought the goods to one of multiple warehouses.
Police investigators found that the alleged fraudsters targeted various companies, mostly wholesalers and car dealerships, in Quebec and Ontario, with the fraudulent purchases ranging between $5,000 and $687,000.
During their investigation, officers observed 39 fraud events where the group made off with material of all kinds: surgical masks, nitrile gloves, olive oil, office chairs — valued at more than $1.38 million.
Additionally, the organization allegedly transported 198 stolen or fraudulently obtained cars through seven warehouse sites. The cars were valued at more than $9 million.
At least 70 vehicles tied to the network, valued at more than $1.9 million, were recovered at the Port of Montreal.
Sarraf’s alleged role, in addition to being the alleged kingpin, was to sell the luxury vehicles that had been stolen or fraudulently obtained.
Citycar rental, one of Coudsi’s car rental companies, advertises luxury rentals on its website. The company has posted images of luxury cars, including Range Rovers and high-end Mercedes and BMW vehicles on social media.
Coudicar, Coudsi’s other company, advertises car rental services in St. Maarten, a Caribbean island, and in Montreal.
Both companies have listed addresses at the Saint-Michel garage alleged to be the headquarters of the criminal organization. Multiple businesses allegedly linked to the fraud use the address. On a recent afternoon, the garage appeared busy; workers were unloading tires outside.