The arrest of the final suspect in a major fraud and data theft case that targeted Desjardins customers has been made in Mexico, according to Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Maxime Paquette, a notorious fugitive from Quebec, was apprehended in Cancun in a joint operation involving the Mexican Navy and the Mexican Criminal Investigation Agency.
Paquette will be held by Mexican authorities as the extradition process to bring him back to Canada progresses. He is facing multiple charges, including fraud exceeding $5,000, identity theft, and trafficking of identities.
This arrest marks the conclusion of a lengthy pursuit that spanned over two years and involved cooperation between Mexican authorities, the RCMP, and Interpol, among others. Juan Pablo Serrano, the other remaining suspect, was arrested in Spain in November 2025.
Authorities allege that Paquette conducted various fraudulent activities using stolen Desjardins customer data obtained between March 2018 and September 2020. He is also accused of selling personal information from the stolen lists to individuals and on the Dark Web.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec issued critical reports in 2020, pointing out Desjardins’ failure to adequately safeguard customer data.
The breach, affecting 9.7 million clients in 2019, exposed personal information that was subsequently exploited in multiple fraud schemes. Desjardins was criticized for not addressing security vulnerabilities promptly, allowing the breach to continue for over two years.
As investigations continue, Laval police are actively searching for Nassim Alikacem, another suspect linked to the stolen data.
