Juan Pablo Serrano, who had been sought since June 2024 in connection with a significant data breach at Desjardins, has been apprehended in Spain, as per a news release issued by Quebec provincial police on Tuesday. The arrest of Serrano on the evening of Nov. 6, 2025, was made possible through a collaborative effort involving Spanish authorities, provincial police, and Interpol. He was a high-priority fugitive in Quebec wanted by the financial crimes and cyber crime investigation unit in relation to Project Portier, a major probe into the Desjardins data breach. This investigation was initiated following the discovery that personal information of millions of Desjardins Group members had been unlawfully shared outside the financial institution. To locate Serrano internationally, Interpol issued a red notice, urging law enforcement worldwide to apprehend him for extradition procedures. Currently detained in Spain, Serrano is set to face charges including identity theft, fraud exceeding $5,000, and trafficking in identity information upon his extradition to Canada.
In June 2024, provincial police circulated information about the 40-year-old fugitive online, alleging that he had acquired lists of data belonging to Desjardins members and customers through Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, subsequently engaging in various fraudulent activities with the obtained data. Boulanger-Dorval, who was arrested that same month, faced charges of fraud, identity theft, illegal possession and sale of personal information, and computer fraud. He was identified as the main suspect in the investigation and had been employed at Desjardins on a marketing team during the breach, allegedly selling the leaked data to settle debts.
The Desjardins data breach, disclosed to the public in 2019 but only discovered by authorities in December 2018, is considered one of the largest breaches among Canadian financial institutions, affecting an estimated 9.7 million individuals and businesses. The successful operation to locate and arrest Serrano was recognized by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) on Tuesday as a result of cooperation among national and international partners, with contributions from the U.S. Secret Service Ottawa Field Office and the Madrid Resident Office. Desjardins expressed satisfaction upon learning of the arrest in an emailed statement to CBC News, reiterating its commitment to collaboration with law enforcement and emphasizing the availability of identity protection services for its members and clients.
