May 6, 2013 Securities

Montréal - Justice of the Peace Sylvie Desmeules of the Court of Québec, district of Saint-François, recently issued a total of $78,000 in fines against three purported dealers, Alain Trempe, Guy Desjardins¹ and René Drouin,² involved in the illegal sale of financial products related to Centre financier Montérégie (C.F.M.) with respect to which the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) had launched a penal proceeding in 2010.

Five investors were swindled in this matter, all individuals who knew Alain Trempe through his activities as an insurance dealer. The five investors are believed to have lost around $50,000.

Alain Trempe fined $42,000
Alain Trempe, a former insurance broker at the time of the alleged actions who encouraged some of his clients to invest in C.F.M., was fined a total of $42,000. He was found guilty on twelve charges, including six counts of illegally acting as a dealer and six counts of making or aiding with illegal distributions.

Repeat offender Guy Desjardins fined $22,000
Guy Desjardins, considered the mastermind of C.F.M. which borrowed money from investors in this matter, was fined a total of $22,000, or double the minimum penalty set out in the Act. He had faced four charges-two for illegally acting as a securities dealer and two for aiding C.F.M. with illegal distributions.

This is not Guy Desjardins' first altercation with the AMF. In March 2010, he was fined $12,000 in the PVM matter for illegal distributions

. More recently, in September 2011, he was fined a total of $404,000 in connection with a proceeding for the illegal pursuit of activities as a securities dealer in 2009, also related to C.F.M.

, which he unsuccessfully tried to appeal.

René Drouin fined $14,000
René Drouin, who acted as an intermediary and helped recruit two of the swindled investors, was fined a total of $14,000. The AMF charged him with illegally pursuing activities as a dealer (two counts) and aiding C.F.M. with illegal distributions (two counts).

This is not Mr. Drouin's first altercation with the AMF. In April 2012, Justice Marie-Josée Di Lallo of the Court of Québec fined him a total of $145,000 in connection with a proceeding launched by the AMF in 2009 which was also related to C.F.M.

Other proceedings related to C.F.M.
The AMF also launched other proceedings for illegal distributions and the illegal pursuit of activities as a securities adviser/dealer related to C.F.M. in 2009. In 2012, Jean-Yves Mulet, who was the subject of two penal proceedings-one in the district of Abitibi and the other in the district of Montréal-was ordered to pay a total of $443,000 in fines after losing his appeal.

Lastly, André Lalonde was ordered to pay a total of $133,000 in fines in September 2010 for aiding Centre Financier Montérégie (CFM) and PVM Capital with the pursuit of activities as a securities adviser without being registered as such.

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

¹ The Respondent Guy Desjardins should not be confused with Guy Desjardins, a damage insurance broker with Murray Charest and Ross, courtiers d'assurances générales inc., who holds certificate 152 229 and is not affected by this judgment.
² The Respondent René Drouin should not be confused with the financial planner and mutual fund representative René Drouin with Desjardins Financial Services Firm, who holds certificate 110 761 and is not affected by this judgment.

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