Tempus - Illegal practice and distributions - Raymond Parent and Alain Botbol found guilty
Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities
Montréal - There have been recent developments in the case concerning two penal proceedings launched against Raymond Parent and Alain Botbol by the Autorité des marchés financiers(the "AMF") for carrying out illegal distributions related to the Société d'investissement Tempus S.E.C.
Raymond Parent found guilty
On July 23, 2012, Justice of the Peace Marie-Josée Hénault of the Court of Québec in the district of Longueuil found Raymond Parent guilty on 11 counts. The AMF accused him of illegally pursuing activities as a securities dealer (6 counts), aiding Tempus in making distributions without a prospectus (3 counts) and making misrepresentations (2 counts).
The evidence showed that Tempus is a limited partnership entirely set up by Raymond Parent for the sole purpose of making high-return foreign investments. He managed Tempus' activities, explained the distribution to investors, decided on the distribution to be made with the money they had pooled in the company and made all other decisions concerning Tempus.
To lure potential investors, Raymond Parent promised returns of 20% at the end of three months. Parent guaranteed investors that the investments were risk-free since they were channelled through the trust accounts of law firms. Raymond Parent raised investments totalling $1,415,000 from 10 investors, who incurred losses valued at $965,000.
Raymond Parent has appealed his convictions. Sentencing hearings have been postponed until September 20, 2012.
Alain Botbol fined a total of $49,000
Alain Botbol, who was named as a general partner in Tempus' articles of association and whose role was to carry out the decisions taken by Raymond Parent, recently withdrew his appeal of a decision rendered by Justice of the Peace Marc Renaud of the Court of Québec in the district of Longueuil.
Alain Botbol had been found guilty of pursuing activities as a securities dealer without being registered as such (1 count), aiding-by act or omission-the Société d'investissement Tempus S.E.C. in making distributions without a prospectus (5 counts) and making misrepresentations in connection with a securities transaction by stating that the distribution was guaranteed since it was being carried out through the trust account of a law firm (1 count). He was fined a total of $49,000.
Reminder for investors
In its recent awareness campaign, 5bonnesquestions.ca (in French only), the AMF reminded consumers of the importance of being cautious when promised a return that is too good to be true. A basic investment rule should be followed: the greater the expected return, the greater the risk associated with it.
The Autorité des marchés financiers(AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector.
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