Fraud and misappropriation of funds - AMF launches penal proceeding against Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg

Securities

Montréal - The Autorité des marchés financiers ("AMF") has launched a penal proceeding in the judicial district of Québec City against Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg for various illegal acts pertaining to public solicitation, distribution and derivatives transactions.

Service with respect to Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg

The publication of this press release is also the method of service, duly authorized by a justice of the peace, of statements of offence 5030-CT and 5076-CT consisting of 16 charges against Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg. A copy of the statements and supporting evidence are available to Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg, or to his legal representative, at 2640, boul. Laurier, bureau 400, Québec (Québec) G1V 5C1.

Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg is required to enter a guilty or not guilty plea at 2640, boulevard Laurier, bureau 400, Québec (Québec) G1V 5C1, within 30 days following the publication of this press release. Should he fail to enter a plea or pay the entire fine and the costs being claimed, Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg will be deemed to have entered not guilty pleas and the matters will be tried and judgments handed down without further notice.

Allegations

Based on an AMF investigation, it was possible to determine that Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg made solicitations to the public through his firm's website and Facebook to invest in derivatives, primarily in binary options

 

while purporting to hold a right to practise in this regard.

In July 2014, the AMF intervened in this matter and applied to the Bureau de décision et de révision (the "Bureau") to freeze, based on allegations of misappropriation, the personal assets and bank accounts of Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg. Thanks to the AMF's proactive intervention, two investors who had been defrauded were able to recover most of their investments.

More specifically, the AMF has filed 16 charges against Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg: three counts of fraud, five counts of misrepresentations, three counts of illegal practice as a derivatives dealer, three counts for declaring to be registered with the AMF and two counts for breaching a decision of the Bureau. If found guilty of all charges, Justin Maisonneuve-Strasbourg will be liable to a minimum fine of $95,000.

Taking steps against fraud

Although they furnish information that can be useful to investors, the Web and social media can be fertile ground for fraud. You should therefore use them carefully and test your vulnerability to fraud.

Whether the person offering the investment opportunity is an acquaintance or not, you should always apply these 5 simple steps to help you detect fraud.

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

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