A person from Quebec was sentenced to pay a fine exceeding nine million Canadian dollars after being convicted of stealing quantities of maple syrup, the largest theft of its kind ever recorded in Canada.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on the case dating back to 2012. Richard Vallière, along with 15 others, stole five tons of maple syrup ten years ago from a warehouse located 150 kilometers from Montreal, with the stolen goods estimated to be worth about 18 million Canadian dollars.

The resale operation of the syrup generated ten million Canadian dollars for the group.

Vallière, who was convicted of fraud, trafficking, and theft in 2016, was sentenced to eight years in prison and to pay a fine exceeding nine million Canadian dollars. This amount was reduced on appeal to one million dollars, equivalent to his personal profits.

However, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously overturned the appeal court's ruling on Thursday, stating that the imprisoned Richard Vallière must pay "a fine equivalent to the value of the quantities of syrup that were in his possession or under his control, that is, ten million dollars."

Vallière has ten years to pay this fine, and if he refuses, he will be imprisoned for an additional six years.