Stevens Demers pleads guilty to 33 counts
Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities
Montréal – On April 26, 2004, at the Montréal Courthouse, Stevens Demers, a senior executive of Enviromondial Inc., pleaded guilty to thirty-three (33) counts brought against him by the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec (the “Commission”, now part of the Autorité des marchés financiers). Judge Denis Saulnier of the Court of Québec, Criminal and Penal Division, ordered him to pay a total fine of $77,000 within a period of forty-two (42) months.
Mr. Demers admitted his guilt to the following charges:
- Having helped Enviromondial to distribute its shares without the company having a prospectus approved by the Commission, thereby infringing section 11 of the Québec Securities Act (the “Act”). With regards to this infringement, M. Demers pleaded guilty to eleven (11) counts, earning him a fine of $55,000;
- Having carried on business as a dealer without being registered as such with the Commission, in violation of section 148 of the Act. He pleaded guilty to two (2) such counts, for which a fine of $2000 was imposed upon him;
- Having assisted Enviromondial to contravene a decision by the Commission issued on January 30, 2002, thereby infringing upon sections 195 and 208 of the Act. The decision prohibited Enviromondial from carrying on any activity so as to distribute or help to distribute its shares. He pleaded guilty to nineteen (19) such counts for which a fine of $19,000 was imposed upon him;
- Having stated, upon conducting a trade on Enviromondial’s stock, that the company’s shares would be listed, in violation of section 199 (4) and 202 of the Act. He pleaded guilty to one such count, which earned him a fine of $1000.
The Commission had initiated the penal proceedings against Mr. Demers on October 7, 2002.
To read press releases previously published in this matter, please consult the AMF’s website, under the heading Access to the sites of the organizations merged into the Autorité. Click on the link to the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec (CVMQ), then on the link to the CVMQ’s archived press releases.
Established on February 1, 2004, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector. The AMF consists of the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec, the Bureau des services financiers, the Régie de l'assurance-dépôts du Québec, the Fonds d'indemnisation des services financiers and the Inspector General of Financial Institutions.
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