Illegal Distributions, Illegal Practice and Other OffencesO De Mer Propulsion and 5 purported dealers found guilty on 346 counts
Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities
Montréal – In a decision handed down on March 19, 2010, Judge Jean-Pierre Dumais of the Court of Québec, district of Québec City, issued a guilty verdict against Jacques Savoie, Gérard Nolet, Jean-François Laroche, Jean-Louis Poirier, Luc Bissonnette and O de Mer Propulsion inc. in respect of 346 charges brought against them by the Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") in October 2008.
- Jacques Savoie was found guilty of 114 violations of the Securities Act for acting illegally as a dealer, making distributions without a prospectus, and giving an undertaking relating to the future value of the securities of O de Mer Propulsion inc.
- Gérard Nolet was found guilty of 69 offences related to acting illegally as a dealer, aiding with an illegal distribution and giving an undertaking relating to the future value of the securities of O de Mer Propulsion inc.
- Jean-François Laroche was found guilty of 36 offences related to acting illegally as a dealer, aiding with an illegal distribution and giving an undertaking relating to the future value of the securities of O de Mer Propulsion inc.
- Jean-Louis Poirier was found guilty of 4 offences related to acting illegally as a dealer, a distribution without a prospectus and aiding with an illegal distribution.
- Luc Bissonnette was found guilty of 4 offences related to acting illegally as a dealer and aiding with an illegal distribution.
- O de Mer Propulsion inc. was found guilty of 119 offences related to making distributions without a prospectus.
The Québec-based company O de Mer Propulsion inc. intended to market two products using water from the Labrador Sea. One of the products had not been approved by Health Canada. The five respondents solicited investments in O de Mer Propulsion inc. to finance the company's expansion. The AMF's investigation revealed that 76 investors had invested a total of $1,351,900. Of these 76 investors, 15 received a full or partial reimbursement. The remaining investors did not recover their funds.
Sentencing representations will take place on April 9, 2010 at the Québec City courthouse. The AMF is seeking fines of $3,830,000 as well as a prison term for Jean-François Laroche.
In October 2009, Jean-François Laroche was found guilty of 84 similar offences in connection with the firm Cogetax and fined $425,000.
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.
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