Quebec regulator lays 51 charges against Norbourg founder

Quebec's top financial regulator has laid 51 securities charges against Vincent Lacroix, founder of the investment fund company Norbourg.

L'Autorit des marchs financiers, which has been investigating Norbourg and previously sued Lacroix on behalf of investors, said 24 of the charges relate to false or misleading information and 27 relate to manipulating mutual fund values.

There is a $130-million gap between the amounts Norbourg had on its books and what investigators have been able to find.

Regulators have accused Lacroix of misappropriating money from Norbourg or its funds, a charge he has denied.

He will plead not guilty to the charges announced Friday, he said on his website.

About 9,200 investors, mostly from Quebec, put money into Norbourg.

"Vincent Lacroix diverted the money of thousands of investors," and is not co-operating, while claiming to be a victim, Jean St-Gelais, head of the authority, said in a news release.

• FROM OCT. 24, 2005: Quebec regulators sue Norbourg's founder for $94 million

• FROM OCT. 13, 2005: Norbourg companies file for bankruptcy protection

The regulator froze Norbourg's assets in August 2005 after it announced that Norbourg and related companies were being investigated.

Norbourg was placed in bankruptcy protection in October, and later that month the authority sued Lacroix for $94 million.

The RCMP is investigating.

The authority's release said it had identified 137 "irregular withdrawals" from Norbourg or related companies between March 2000 and August 2005, totalling more than $115 million.

The charges were laid Thursday in Quebec's provincial court. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of five years less a day in jail or a fine of up to $5 million.