The judiciary in Quebec Province has charged the head of the real estate group "Sutton Québec" and its co-founder, Christophe Foula, aged 70, with issuing orders to deliberately set fire to the offices of real estate agents competing with his company.

Foula, along with Benjamin Amar and Alan Mark Nahmias, were charged with arson and conspiracy to commit a criminal offense.

According to the indictment presented to the court in the city of Saint-Jérôme, these alleged arson crimes occurred between September 1, 2017, and November 15, 2022.

Investigators from the Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) believe that the three accused were involved in at least five arson attacks targeting offices of real estate agents operating under the name "Royal Lepage" in the cities of Sainte-Thérèse and Saint-Sauveur in the Laurentides area northwest of Greater Montreal.

According to the Quebec commercial register, Christophe Foula remains the head of the "Sutton Québec" group, which includes more than 20 franchise owners and 1,500 real estate agents.

"Sutton Québec" is considered one of the largest real estate sales agencies in Quebec, recording about 22,000 deals annually, according to its website.

Foula, who was arrested today, is scheduled to appear before the Saint-Jérôme court tomorrow morning, Thursday. If convicted after trial, he faces a maximum sentence of up to 14 years in prison.