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

Fouilla, along with Benjamin Amar (Ammar) and Alan Mark Nahmias, were charged with arson and conspiracy to commit a criminal offense.

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

Quebec Provincial Police (SQ) investigators 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 region northwest of Greater Montreal.

Also, according to the business registry in Quebec, Christophe Fouilla remains the president of "Sutton Québec," which includes more than 20 franchise owners and over 1,500 real estate agents.

"Sutton Québec" is one of the largest real estate sales agencies in Quebec, with approximately 22,000 transactions annually according to its website records.

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

When Radio Canada published this news late this afternoon, "Sutton Québec" had not yet commented on the arrest of its president.