Young Quebecers are increasingly represented in insolvency proceedings in Quebec. Our investigation and show office I he met several young people who went bankrupt before they turned 25.
TOTAL OBTAINED: $39,444
- NAME : Emmeric Rouverand-Viau
- AGE : 20 years
- CITY : Montreal
- BANKRUPTCY : March 2023
- CAUSE : progressive debt
Attracted by the promise of better returns on his savings, Emmeric Rouverand-Viau believes he made a big mistake by divulging a wealth of valuable data to an individual who turned out to be a fraud.
The young man says he learned the hard way about the consequences of what amounts to identity theft. Through one of his friends he met a man who became dear to him.
“He introduced him to me and I gave out a lot of personal information quickly, too quickly, because I trusted my friend and he told me he trusted him,” she recounts with regret.
Emmeric says he gave permission for this person to use his Desjardins account to circulate the funds.
The aim, he said, was to improve its image with the institution by giving the impression that it was generating significant revenue. “The goal was to show the financial institution that I had enough funds and that if I (…) invested (the money) later, I could get a better interest rate,” he explains.
But shortly after that, he changed his mind and decided to close his account.
- Listen to the legal segment with Félix Séguin where he and Richard discuss personal bankruptcies among young people via Radio QUB :
Unfortunately, the damage was done. A person who had access to his account applied for AccordD funding without his knowledge. She also took advantage of the offer to get a credit card, which she promptly abused.
“At the end of December, my friend called me saying that this person had scammed him and that I should check my accounts,” he explains.
The day after that phone call, he himself received a letter from a collection agency telling him that the account was too long overdue and that Desjardins had sent a request for reimbursement.
Brutal shock
While he was confident the account had been closed without incident, he said the shock was brutal when he learned he was in arrears.
“I owed the banking institution about $22,000 plus interest,” he sighs.
“I was under stress (…) I was deceived by the same person. I panicked and went to my parents to see what I could do,” he said.
Emmeric finds it surprising that someone was able to obtain such large sums without further verification. “It’s surprising because I worked for two years in a student part-time job with a fixed income. They had the ability to see that I wouldn’t be able to repay everything,” he criticizes.
Emmeric said he filed a police complaint to report the situation. Pushed against the wall, he had no choice but to go bankrupt at the age of 20.
“After seven years, the ticket will be erased and no trace will remain. That seemed to be the most effective,” he said.
However, with no news of a police investigation, he regrets that the person who allegedly defrauded him has suffered little consequence so far.