Police charge that guy who (allegedly) ripped off the LCBO—(allegedly) big time

On Monday, the Ontario Provincial Police charged former LCBO employee and noted (alleged) scammer Francois Agostini with a litany of offences: breach of trust, fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, two counts of falsifying books, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and money laundering. The story goes that from 2005 to 2011, Agostini (allegedly) exploited a liquor board program that provides booze to diplomats without tax or duty at a savings of up to 40 per cent. Agostini’s scheme, according to the LCBO’s affidavit, allowed him to make off with somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1.6 million by conjuring fake sales for imaginary diplomats. The LCBO has since followed up with a $2-million lawsuit against Agostini (and the bouncy castle operator he was in cahoots with). The obvious losers in all this, of course, were the LCBO and the suckers who shell out for its overpriced booze. The winners, on the other hand, were clearly diplomats—real or imagined. [Toronto Star]