Richard Vallières Was Behind the 2012 Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist — Where Is He Now?

There is something almost charming about a caper called the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist. And while it's tempting to poke fun at an obviously sticky situation, it was actually quite serious. It might surprise some people to learn that Canada is the world's largest export of maple syrup.

It's incredibly valuable and for a few short months in 2011 and 2012, it was kind of easy to steal.

To make a long story short, Canada has a maple syrup version of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries called The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup, and they are in charge of establishing the price of syrup for all the country's producers.

One year the Maple Mafia was building up the syrup reserve when hundreds of barrels were stolen while languishing in a rented warehouse. Several people were arrested, but one man was the ringleader.

Where is Richard Vallières now?

According to The Guardian, in 2016 Vallières was convicted of fraud, trafficking, as well as theft, and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Judge Raymond Pronovost ordered him to pay $9.4 million, which was the estimated value of the syrup.

He was given 10 years to pay this back and if he failed, Vallières was looking at six more years on his sentence.

After appealing, the fine was reduced to the amount of money Vallières made from selling the stolen maple syrup, $1 million. However, Canada's top court overturned that stating, "Distinguishing between an offender’s income and expenses in order to determine the offender’s profit margin would essentially amount to legitimating criminal activity."

They went on to say in doing this, Parliament was sending a clear message that "crime doesn't pay."

In February 2022, The Montreal Gazette reported that Vallières was granted day parole after two failed attempts. During his hearing, parole board member Luc Chamberlain said, "You still have work to do to become aware of the elements that brought you to commit your crimes."

Vallières discussed the harm he inflicted upon maple syrup producers, who had to drop the prices of their products after he flooded the market with the stolen syrup.

Vallières also revealed that at the time he thought he was smarter than everyone and could never get caught. "It came with consequences. I ended up in (a maximum-security penitentiary)."

Some of the things he saw in prison were enough to make him rethink how he was living. He referenced something he witnessed while at Archambault Institution. "I saw a guy get killed over a pear ... a fight over a pear.”

His motivation for stealing the maple syrup went far beyond greed. The convicted thief had a long and storied history with the Federation, which fined him more than $1.8 million in 2007 after he was caught selling maple syrup to unauthorized buyers. This resulted in Vallières' house being seized.

"I wanted revenge," he said.