One-year prison termMichel Maheux given fourth prison term for contempt of court

Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal – In a decision handed down on June 5, 2009, Superior Court Judge Carol Cohen (district of Montréal), ordered Michel Maheux to serve a one-year firm prison sentence continuously and consecutive to any other term. This is the fourth prison term imposed on him for contempt of court. A warrant for his arrest and detention has been issued.

This sentence is further to a special order to appear on a charge of contempt of court and an order to shut down an Internet site.

In her decision, Judge Cohen noted that a severe sentence was warranted given the history of this file and, in particular, the repeated offences in similar matters despite the numerous court judgments and orders.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) submitted evidence whereby Michel Maheux violated the provisions under a permanent injunction order issued on October 11, 2005 by Superior Court Judge Jocelyn Verrier (district of Richelieu). In this decision, the Judge ordered the Coopérative de producteurs de bois précieux Québec Forestales (Québec Forestales) and Michel Maheux in particular to:

  • cease and refrain from distributing preferred units of Québec Forestales, investment contracts or any other form of investment contemplated in section 1 of the Securities Act, through any channels, including correspondence and websites.

The AMF also presented evidence demonstrating that Michel Maheux had violated the provisions of an order issued on January 14, 2009 by Superior Court Judge Diane Marcelin (district of Montréal) instructing him to shut down an Internet site.

Michel Maheux has been the subject of numerous Court of Québec and Superior Court decisions:

  • in February 2009, he was sentenced to 60 days in prison for contempt of court;
  • in June 2007, he was sentenced to 21 days in prison for contempt of court;
  • in March 2005, a 10-day prison term and a fine of $4,500 were imposed on him for contempt of court;
  • in May 2005, he was found guilty on 74 charges for aiding Québec Forestales with violating a decision issued by the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec and for aiding Québec Forestales with making misrepresentations related to securities trading. Michel Maheux was fined $222,000, plus costs. This fine has yet to be paid.

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

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