Man gets 34 months for role in Ponzi scheme

A 61-year-old South Shore resident has been sentenced to a 34-month prison term for his role in a Ponzi scheme that bilked more than 200 investors out of $19 million.

Benoît Sénécal of Longueuil admitted to using bank accounts in his name to launder money that was collected in the fraudulent investment scheme from people in the Greater Montreal area and in the Eastern Townships.

Sénécal was arrested in 2013 along with six other people after the Sûreté du Québec investigated the Ponzi scheme after a complaint was filed in 2011.

During a hearing at the Montreal courthouse on Friday, Superior Court Court Justice Marc David was told by a prosecutor in the case that Sénécal used 12 bank accounts to help launder more than $7 million collected from investors who were snared in the Ponzi scheme.

When arrests were made in 2013, the SQ estimated investors were bilked out of $19 million. One of the prosecutors in the case said on Friday more than $7 million has been reimbursed and investors collectively lost $10.7 million.

Sénécal was acquitted of other charges he faced in the case, including fraud and conspiracy, because the Crown had no evidence he was involved in the scheme to that degree.

His lawyer, Romy Elayoubi, told David much of the money that has been reimbursed was done so by Sénécal.

David agreed with the joint recommendation made on a prison term of 34 months.

The judge also issued an order forbidding Sénécal from communicating with the co-accused in the same case as well as the more than 200 people who fell victim to the scheme.

“I don’t know them,” Sénécal said with a shrug.

Sénécal pleaded guilty to laundering the proceeds of crime last year, but considered withdrawing the plea after the other people accused in the same case tried to have all the charges they faced placed under a stay of proceedings.

They argued it had taken the Crown too long to prosecute them.

That motion was rejected earlier this year and, Elayoubi explained on Friday, the development convinced Sénécal to maintain his guilty plea.

The case for the other accused returns to court in Longueuil in October. Included among the people who are facing a possible trial is Sophie Jolicoeur, 48, of Mont St-Hilare, who was reportedly working as a notary when arrests were made.

Another man charged in the case, Jean-Marc Lavallee, 69, a former lawyer, has yet to be located by police.