September 25, 2008 Securities

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has launched penal proceedings in the Court of Québec (Criminal and Penal Division), district of Montréal, against Italo Testa comprising 85 charges, fines totalling nearly $620,000 and a prison term of 5 years less one day.

In its suit, the AMF filed 85 charges related to three sets of offences in respect of the Securities Act (the "Act"):

• acting as a dealer without being registered as such with the financial market regulatory authority, thereby violating section 148 of the Act (34 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, various entities in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a prospectus approved by the financial market regulatory authority, thereby violating sections 11 and 208 of the Act (46 counts);
• making misrepresentations to investors by telling them that their investments were guaranteed, thereby violating subparagraph 1 of section 197 of the Act (5 counts).

The fines sought by the AMF are twice the minimum fines set out in the Act, and are equal to the losses incurred by the investors in this matter. The AMF is also seeking a prison term for exemplary and deterrence purposes and to ensure the protection of investors. In its decision, the AMF also considered the seriousness of the offences, in particular, the relationship of trust established, the amount of the investments and the vulnerability of the victims.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.

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