Hippocampe - Simon Déry fined $100,000
Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities
Montréal - On February 4, 2016, Judge Gaby Dumas, Justice of the Peace of the Court of Québec, district of Laval, ordered Simon Déry to pay fines totalling $100,000. Simon Déry had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges of aiding in a distribution without a prospectus and eight charges of illegal practice as a securities dealer.
In 2012, the Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") launched a penal proceeding against Simon Déry and another individual. The AMF investigation revealed that Simon Déry, then president of the firm Hippocampe, was soliciting investors to subscribe for debt securities, promising them 24% annual interest.
More specifically, Hippocampe acted as an intermediary between individuals who were having difficulty financing their real estate projects and investors who were willing to provide short-term loans at high interest rates. Simon Déry and Hippocampe were never registered with the AMF in any capacity and they never filed a prospectus with the AMF for approval or obtained a prospectus exemption from the AMF.
This is not Simon Déry's first altercation with the AMF. In 2012, he was fined $42,000 for similar offences in connection with another penal proceeding. In addition, he has been under a cease trade order since March 2011.
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector.
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