Third prison term against Michel Maheux for contempt of court

Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal – In a decision handed down on February 6, 2009, Judge Kirkland Casgrain of Québec Superior Court (district of Montréal) ordered Michel Maheux to serve a firm prison term of 60 days continuously and consecutive to any other term. This is the third prison term imposed on him. 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 two orders intended to shut down an Internet site. In view of the evidence submitted by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Judge Casgrain found Michel Maheux guilty of contempt of court "[translation] because of his blunt behaviour and obvious intention to continue to show contempt of court."

The 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 (the "Act"), through any channels, including correspondence and websites.

Nonetheless, Michel Maheux carried on, using websites, with the distribution of forms of investment referred to in section 1 of the Act without a prospectus approved by the AMF.

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

  • 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. To date, 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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