December 9, 2010 Securities

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has launched penal proceedings against Coopérative de services aux professionnels de la Mauricie (CSPM), Coopérative de travailleurs actionnaires de C.T.B.T. (CTA de CTBT), Louis-Paul Lafond, Jean-Pierre Lafond and Gaston Boily and is seeking total fines of $586,000.

The AMF alleges that CSPM and CTA de C.T.B.T. made, respectively, 16 and two illegal distributions. The AMF is seeking fines totalling $180,000 from these two co-operatives.

Father and son face charges

In the same matter, the AMF is also filing charges against Louis-Paul Lafond, vice-president and director of CSPM and subsequently director of CTA de CTBT, and against his son, Jean-Pierre Lafond, president of CSPM and vice-president of CTA de CTBT. The AMF alleges that, on 17 occasions, Louis-Paul Lafond aided both co-operatives with illegal distributions and acted illegally as a securities dealer. He is also charged with authorizing or permitting an illegal distribution as an officer. The AMF is seeking fines totalling $214,000.

Jean-Pierre Lafond faces 18 charges of authorizing or permitting illegal distributions as an officer. The AMF is seeking fines totalling $180,000.

The AMF is filing two charges against Gaston Boily, an insurance of persons representative for aiding one of the co-operatives with an illegal distribution and illegally acting as a securities dealer.

The AMF is seeking fines totalling $12,000. The AMF is seeking fines that are twice the minimum fine set out in the Act.

The AMF investigation revealed that 11 investors invested approximately $88,000. None of the investors has recovered their invested capital.

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

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