December 9, 2009 Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal – At the request of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Bureau de décision et de révision en valeurs mobilières (BDRVM) issued an urgent order on December 7, 2009, prohibiting 16 individuals and seven firms from pursuing activities as securities advisers and from carrying on any activity, directly or indirectly, in respect of transactions in securities. The BDRVM also froze the funds, securities and other assets held by these firms and individuals.

This decision is related to the Carrefour investigation. This investigation, undertaken by the Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET), is being led by the RCMP. The AMF is involved in this operation pursuant to the powers conferred on it by law.

The firms and individuals affected by the BDRVM decision are: Normand Bouchard, Respondent Normand Bouchard should not be confused with Normand Bouchard of Bouchard, Gratton, Beaudoin et Associés inc. and Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc. in Brossard, holder of certificate No. 104 223, or Normen Bouchard of Services financiers Normen Bouchard inc. in Québec City, holder of certificate No. 104 225, who are not affected by this decision. Mario Dumais, Luis Gonzales, Tri Minh Huynh, Michel Larocque, Mario Paquin, Respondent Mario Paquin should not be confused with Mario Paquin of Aon Parizeau inc. in Sherbrooke, holder of certificate No. 125 829, who is not affected by this decision. Gérald Parkin, Gia Tuong Quan, Thinh Tuong Quan (also known as Jacky Quan), Robert Savoie, Bartelomeo Torino, Richard Tremblay, Claude Valade, Respondent Claude Valade should not be confused with Claude Valade of Primerica Financial Services Ltd. and PFSL Investments Canada Ltd. in Blainville, holder of certificate No. 162 214, who is not affected by this decision. René Viau, Claude Adam, Serge Belval, Aquamondial inc., 9179-5252 Québec inc., 9137-1534 Québec inc., 9201-7144 Québec inc., doing business as Bio-Quan Life Sciences, 9175-9704 Québec inc., doing business as Investissement Max, Air Bermuda inc., and Fonds de placement Nor-West.

The publication of this news release constitutes the method of service authorized by the BDRVM in connection with decision 2009-041-001 (pdf - 10 MB)This link will open in a new window (in French only) with respect to Robert Savoie.

The evidence presented by the AMF shows that the respondents developed schemes to defraud investors of their savings, typically retirement funds. Investors were solicited primarily through classified ads offering financial assistance to RRSP, LIF and LIRA holders. They were encouraged to transfer a portion of their savings into a self-directed brokerage account and hand over management of the account to some of the respondents. In exchange, they would receive an immediate cash payment equal to a determined percentage of their savings. As part of these organized activities, the price of different securities was subsequently manipulated for profit, to the detriment of the investors.

The AMF alleges that these acts resulted in a withdrawal of funds from investors' self-directed RRSP accounts. Investors who trade these securities might also suffer losses as a result of the higher trading volume and price of the securities.

In its decision, the BDRVM stated that it was particularly concerned about the following allegations and facts presented by the AMF:

• None of the respondents were registered with the AMF;
• One of the respondents, Normand Bouchard, is already under a cease trade order and has penal charges pending against him for violating the Securities Act.

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

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