The founder of a Quebec cryptocurrency company has allegedly siphoned nearly $6 million from a dozen investors, which went towards his personal expenses, among other things.
Louis Cléroux, founder of cryptocurrency firm Timechain, along with his partner Jérémie Picard and associate Mathieu Cocher, were hit by a series of orders from the Financial Markets Administrative Court on Monday.
According to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the trio “would have used some of the investors’ money to pay for Timechain’s operating expenses and Louis Cléroux’s personal expenses, rather than investing it in Timechain’s crypto trading fund. as represented to investors. »
Down payment for a condominium
Reached by phone yesterday from our Bureau of Investigation, Louis Cléroux didn’t beat around the bush to explain where the money went: “I took $200,000 which I’m using as a down payment on the purchase of a condo have,” he says. and claims that this sum comes from the profits of the company.
Photo from Padmapper.com website
This $1.4 million condo in Montreal’s Tour des Canadiens is owned by Louis Cléroux, founder of cryptocurrency firm Timechain. The property is subject to an AMF blocking order.
He also states that money from investors “was used to hire staff and develop various products of his company”.
He claims that six of the 12 investors have been reimbursed, but he doesn’t have the money to reimburse the other six at the moment.
As for the AMF, the investigation is ongoing and we’re still trying to find out what we did with the money, says the organization’s head of media relations; According to him, several shortcomings were identified.
Wrong information
The Autorité des marchés financiers alleges, among others, that Timechain, Louis Cléroux, Jérémie Picard and Mathieu Cocher “have practiced the business of securities brokers without being registered as such with the AMF”, which is illegal.
They are also accused of making non-compliant investments and providing false information to investigators from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers as part of their investigation.
“There is a significant difference between the numbers we have provided the AMF with and what they have,” admits Louis Cléroux, but “I will investigate internally to understand what happened” .
emergency measures
The case is so worrying that on May 30, the AMF obtained several injunctions and prohibitions from the Financial Markets Administrative Court in relation to the company, its directors and its shareholders, and certain persons closely associated with them.
The court recognized the urgency and need for immediate action in the interest of the public, which also issued a freeze order on the $1.4 million condo owned by Louis Cléroux and his wife on September 1, 2021.
The group has also been barred by the court from conducting any securities brokerage or advisory activity, and any advertising or solicitation, via the internet or otherwise, in connection with the crypto trading fund operated by Timechain.
apartment
Founded in 2018 by Louis Cléroux, Timechain develops “a mobile application that allows users to transfer money between different countries […] safer […] ‘ said Louis Cléroux during a speech he gave earlier this year in March.
The company claims to make profits by trading cryptocurrency at the best market price around the world.
The company also claims to provide its customers with cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency transactions at a lower cost.