Norbourg Founder Faces 51 Counts

Canada's largest securities regulator, AMF, has charged Norbourg Asset Management founder Vincent Lacroix with 51 counts, alleging price manipulation of mutual funds and intentionally misrepresenting the fund company's financial statements, according to The Globe and Mail.

The charges could lead to at least 5 years in prison or a maximum fine of $5 million.

Lacroix pleaded not guilty in Canadian courts late last week.

"I plead not guilty to each and every accusation brought by the AMF," he said.

Lacroix is also being sued by the AMF in a civil court, as the regulator attempts to recover $94 million that has disappeared. In the lawsuit, AMF also seeks $22 million from Netherlands-based auditor KPMG and $115 million from Northern Trust Co. Canada, custodian to the Norbourg funds in Toronto. KPMG and Northern Trust have denied wrongdoing.

Founded in 1998 in Montreal, Norbourg once boasted $155 million in assets and 9,200 investors. Regulators have shut it down and its Web presence has been removed.

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.