One of Quebec’s ‘most wanted’ fugitives arrested in Spain in connection with Desjardins data breach

Juan Pablo Serrano was arrested in Spain in connection with the massive Desjardins data breach in 2019. (SQ)

Quebec provincial police, in collaboration with Spanish authorities, have arrested one of the province’s most wanted alleged criminals in connection with the Desjardins data breach and multi-million dollar fraud.

In a news release, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said it worked with INTERPOL, and the U.S. Secret Service offices in Madrid and Ottawa.

Juan Pablo Serrano has been wanted since June 2024 in the Portier case, which investigated the 2019 breach involving close to 9.7 million Canadian and international Desjardins clients.

The breach occurred over more than two years before the financial institution became aware of it, according to a 2020 report from the Canada Privacy Commissioner and the Quebec Information Access Commission.

The investigation found that Desjardins was aware of the security weaknesses that led to the breach but failed to address them in time.

The financial group only became aware of the breach after being notified by the police.

Serrano was located and arrested on Nov. 6 in Spain and is expected to remain in custody while extradition proceedings are initiated for his return to Canada.

“Between June 27 and June 30, 2021, he was in possession of identifying information associated with Desjardins customers from the massive Desjardins data theft in 2019,” the SQ said on its most wanted fugitives page. “He also sold identifying information from the stolen Desjardins lists to several individuals, and on the Dark Web.”

He is facing the following charges:

• Fraud over $5,000;
• Identity theft;
• Trafficking in identifying information;

The SQ arrested five people in 2024 in connection with the case, including alleged ringleader Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, who worked in Desjardins’ marketing department until 2019 when the theft was discovered.

Jean-Loup Masse-Leullier, François Baillargeon-Bouchard, Laurence Bernier, Charles Bernier and Mathieu Joncas were also arrested.

The SQ are still searching for Maxime Paquette.