In matter of Jitec - Appeal of Benoît Laliberté's penal conviction - Benoît Laliberté guilty of three other charges

Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal – In a decision handed down on April 28, 2009, Judge Richard Wagner of Superior Court (Criminal and Penal Division), district of Montréal, found Benoît Laliberté guilty of three of the four charges under an appeal launched by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in September 2008.

At the request of the AMF, the Court thereby quashed the acquittal verdicts issued by Judge Céline Lacerte-Lamontagne in February 2008 in respect of charges 6, 9 and 38. Specifically, the AMF succeeded in its appeal in respect of two charges related to an insider's obligation to report transactions within the time period prescribed by law and in respect of one charge related to making misrepresentations in a press release.

Sentencing representations for these three charges will be held at a later date. The AMF wishes to stress once again that illegal insider trading and misrepresentations are unacceptable offences, and guilty parties must be harshly penalized.

As well, Judge Wagner dismissed the appeal launched by Benoît Laliberté with respect to the guilty verdict handed down by Judge Lacerte-Lamontagne on 40 charges.

On February 21, 2008, Court of Québec Judge Lacerte-Lamontagne found Benoît Laliberté guilty of 41 violations under the Securities Act (the "Act"):

  • for failing to file a report disclosing a change in his control over the securities of a reporting issuer, namely, Jitec Inc., thereby violating section 97 of the Act (30 counts);
  • for insider trading in the securities of Jitec Inc. while having privileged information about the company, thereby violating section 187 of the Act (4 counts);
  • for aiding Jitec Inc. in making a misrepresentation in press releases that could affect the market value or price of the company's securities, thereby violating section 196 of the Act (2 counts);
  • for making a misrepresentation in connection with a transaction relating to securities by promising investors, at the time they purchased shares of Jitec Inc., that contracts worth millions of dollars had been or would soon be signed by Jitec Inc. and another company, thereby violating section 197 of the Act (4 counts);
  • and for giving an undertaking relating to the future value or price of the securities of Jitec Inc. in connection with a transaction relating to the securities of the company, thereby violating section 199 of the Act (1 count).

On July 31, 2008, Judge Céline Lacerte-Lamontagne ordered Benoît Laliberté to pay fines totalling $900,000.

The decision handed down by Judge Richard Wagner is available (in French only) on the AMF website, under "News."

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

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