March 17, 2009 Securities

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has instituted penal proceedings against Jean-François Cantin, Francine Lauzon and Rocco Di Stefano in the Court of Québec (Criminal and Penal Division), district of Montréal.

In its suit against Jean François Cantin, the AMF has filed 5 charges and is seeking $75,000 in fines for:

• aiding, by act or omission, Zema Finances Inc. with the distribution of a form of investment governed by the Securities Act (the “Act”), namely, promissory notes, without a prospectus approved by the AMF, thereby contravening section 11 of the Act and committing an offence under section 202 thereof, with reference to section 208 of the Act.

The AMF is also filing 19 charges against Francine Lauzon and seeking $285,000 in fines for:

• aiding, by act or omission, Zema Finances Inc. with the distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act, namely, promissory notes, without a prospectus approved by the AMF, thereby contravening section 11 of the Act and committing an offence under section 202 thereof, with reference to section 208 of the Act.

As regards Rocco Di Stefano, the AMF is filing 40 charges and seeking $372,000 in fines for:

• carrying on business as a securities dealer without being registered as such with the AMF, by distributing a form of investment governed by the Act, thereby contravening section 148 thereof and committing an offence under section 202 of the Act (19 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, Zema Finances Inc. with the distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act, namely, promissory notes, without a prospectus approved by the AMF, thereby contravening section 11 of the Act and committing an offence under section 202 thereof, with reference to section 208 of the Act (19 counts);
• making misrepresentations about a securities transaction, thereby contravening section 197 of the Act (2 counts).

In light of the losses incurred by investors, the need to set an example, the need for general deterrence, the position of trust involved, and the nature and duration of the offences, the AMF is seeking three times the minimum fines prescribed by law.

It should be noted that in February 2008, the AMF instituted another penal proceeding against Rocco Di Stefano for 46 similar offences for which it was seeking $414,000 in fines.

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

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