The scandal involved the Montreal, Quebec based Norbourg Financial Group, a trust-fund company founded by Vincent Lacroix.
[3][4] The AMF filed 51 charges against Lacroix in March 2006 related to false and misleading information and manipulating mutual fund values.
[5] Investigators reviewed some of the transactions and cheques dating back to 2000 and found 69 files related to the 51 charges.
In October 2005, the AMF also sued Lacroix for C$94 million and an investigation was also launched by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The Action démocratique du Québec and the Parti Québécois also asked the provincial government of Jean Charest to appoint an investigating commission.
[9] In June 2006, Ernst & Young agreed to distribute C$31 million to about 5,600 investors who were among those hardest hit.
[12][16] On June 18, 2008, a further 922 criminal charges were laid against six people involved in the scandal, including Lacroix and former Quebec provincial civil servant Jean Renaud.
[17] Lacroix, who was released during the summer of 2009, went through a transition home and performed several hours of community work.
Lacroix inspired the character of Vincent Lemieux in Robert Morin's film Daddy Goes Ptarmigan Hunting (Papa à la chasse aux lagopèdes).
[18] The events that lead the charges laid against Lacroix are portrayed in the film Norbourg, directed by Maxime Giroux, starring Vincent-Guillaume Otis, François Arnaud, and Christine Beaulieu.