All posts filed under: White-collar crimes

Alleged PlexCorps founder ordered to hand bitcoins to Quebec financial watchdog

A Quebec City businessman believed by Quebec’s financial watchdog and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be behind PlexCorps, a controversial cryptocurrency start-up accused of fraudulently selling up to millions of dollars’ worth of tokens, has been ordered to hand all bitcoins in his possession within 48 hours, ruled the Quebec Financial Markets Administrative Tribunal.

Suspected PlexCoin founder sentenced to two months in prison

Dominic Lacroix, a Quebec City businessman believed by Quebec’s financial watchdog and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be behind PlexCorps, a controversial cryptocurrency start-up accused of fraudulently selling up to $15 million of tokens, was sentenced to two months of prison and fined $100,000 for contempt of court.

U.S. SEC files charges against PlexCorps

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency asset freeze against PlexCoin, a controversial “fast-moving” and “purported” initial coin offering (ICO) that has raised up to $15 million from thousands of investors since August 2017.

The SEC also filed charges against Dominic Lacroix, a “recidivist” Quebec securities law violator, his partner Sabrina Paradis-Royer and his company PlexCorps, according to a new filing dated December 1, 2017 in Brooklyn, New York.

Why it matters: Regulators are keeping a watchful eye on ICOs, hoping to make life difficult for predatory offerings that promise exhorbitant returns.

Montreal man ordered to pay largest fine ever issued for Quebec securities offences

A Montreal man was fined $11.2 million, the largest fine ever issued in Quebec for securities offences, and sentenced to a three-month jail sentence for fraudulent penny stock practices commonly referred to as “pump and dump” scheme.

Jean-François Amyot is among one of five people and two companies that plead guilty to charges laid against them by the Quebec financial watchdog, Autorité des marchés financiers, nearly three years ago during a trial earlier this year.

Quebec financial watchdog raids offices of man prohibited from promoting PlexCoin

The Quebec financial watchdog raided last week the offices of Dominic Lacroix, a Quebec City man who has been prohibited by a tribunal to promote and solicit investors for a new virtual currency called PlexCoin.

The raid turned up a list of people from around the world, including Quebec, the U.S., and Africa, who expressed an interest in investing in PlexCoin, said Sylvain Théberge, a spokesperson with the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the regulatory and oversight body for Quebec’s financial sector.