Éric Asselin, former right-hand man of Vincent Lacroix at the time of the Norbourg scandal and who would appear under a false name today, can no longer practice as a mortgage broker, the Financial Markets Administrative Court (TMF) has ruled.
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has filed a lawsuit against Jean-François Soucy, Éric Asselin and Groupe Courtier Expert inc. (the “Defendants”) in this case.
According to the AMF, Jean-François Soucy would encourage and permit the illegal pursuit of the activity of mortgage broker or mortgage brokerage firm by Éric Asselin and Groupe Courtier Expert Inc., and in addition would tolerate Éric Asselin posing under another name, Éric Gagnon.
According to the AMF investigation, Mr Soucy would have offered, among other things, mortgage loans disbursed by a private lender in which he had a direct interest (conflict of interest). He also allegedly failed to adequately advise his clients and provide them with any useful or necessary information for their understanding and allegedly failed to ensure that the loans offered were suitable for his clients, according to the AMF.
A scam that shaped Quebec
The Norbourg affair, which happened 17 years ago, continues to fascinate the Quebec public and get people talking about it. By its excesses, by the light it sheds on greed, on the thin threads on which entrepreneurs sometimes have to walk—and on which many will fall—this story will have had the merit of inspiring Quebecers’ interest in the economy, the business and their families to reignite personal finances.
The Vrai platform offers a documentary series on the underside of the “case” which remains the main financial scam in the province to date.