BY KEITH LACEY
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) will hold a hearing in February to try and strip Pierre Montpellier of any ability to work in the securities industry in this province.
The hearing will examine the circumstances and jail sentence imposed against Montpellier, who was convicted of stealing $5.35 million from more than 120 investors.
?We will be seeking an order to terminate the registration of Mr. Montpellier with the commission,? said OSC assistant manager of litigation Karen Manarin, from her Toronto office Friday afternoon.
The OSC hearing will take place Friday, Feb. 25 at 10 am in the commission?s hearing room of its office on Queen Street West in Toronto.
Montpellier was sentenced to two years in a federal penitentiary by Justice Louise Gauthier of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. This time was on top of 31 months Montpellier spent in pre-trial custody at the Sudbury district jail.
Montpellier became a free man Dec. 15 after serving one-sixth of his sentence
?We obviously feel, considering his pleas of guilt, that the commission will accept our position,? Manarin said.
The upcoming hearing is open to the public.
Montpellier has a right to represent himself or be represented by legal counsel, but he also has the right to not attend, said Manarin.
Two weeks ago, details of a financial package were released, where a Sudbury lawyer obtained 60 percent of the money defrauded by Montpellier.
The victims received just under 50 percent of the money they had invested with Montpellier after legal fees were subtracted.
The OSC alleges neither Montpellier Group Inc. or his company Foreign Capital Corporation were ever registered with the commission in any capacity.
