François Bélanger, who helped real estate influencer Jocelyn Grégoire raise funds without being registered with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), has agreed to settle his case by paying a penalty of $23,000.
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In an agreement reached with the AMF, Mr. Bélanger admits to having helped Mr. Grégoire to collect sums from “at least 15” people in order to invest in Projet PL, a company owning seven buildings.
In total, a little more than 50 people invested in Projet PL in 2019 and 2020. The AMF has not disclosed the total amounts that Jocelyn Grégoire and François Bélanger collected.
Jocelyn Grégoire
Screenshot from the podcast It’s happening between the two ears! by Real Estate Fans
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Mr. Grégoire notably solicited investors through the Facebook page affiliated with his company Mordus d’immobilier. For his part, Bélanger participated in presentations aimed at recruiting investors.
However, neither was registered as a broker. In addition, Projet PL had not filed any prospectus to detail the proposed offering.
A former executive at Telus and Bell, François Bélanger has operated a real estate firm, Belabri, since 2003. He was also director of Cedma Finance, a company owned by Jocelyn Grégoire, from March 2017 to December 2020.
“Irreconcilable difference”
The two men then had an “irreconcilable dispute” which pushed Mr. Bélanger to “separate” from Mr. Grégoire “by buying back his shares in Projet PL”, we read in the agreement filed before the Markets Court Financial Services (TMF).
The AMF initially demanded a penalty of $25,000 against François Bélanger, but the two parties ultimately agreed on $23,000.
In a decision rendered last week, the TMF considers that Mr. Bélanger “wishes to mend his ways” since he says he wants to “optimize” Projet PL’s activities “with the aim of allowing the redemption of investors’ shares in a fair and fair”.
Remember that in December 2023, the TMF issued provisional orders prohibiting Jocelyn Grégoire from acting as a broker or financial advisor. A hearing is planned in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, Mr. Grégoire is not idle. He launched a book last month and a podcast episode earlier this week.
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