The instigators of the Lovaganza project, a couple from the South Shore of Montreal who have been traveling the world for several years thanks to hundreds of investors for a hypothetical large-scale film project, were sentenced Monday to fines totaling 600,000 $.
Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier pleaded guilty to charges brought by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) for illegally soliciting investors between 2014 and 2015.
But numerous testimonies indicate that the solicitation continued for several years. According to disillusioned investors who confided in The Press in various reports published since 2016, at least 20 million were raised from 650 people, who were promised returns representing five or ten times their stakes.
In the couple’s admission of guilt, recorded last December, we only mention a sum of $432,000 collected from 12 investors between May 2014 and March 2015, which was never reimbursed.
Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier, who say they live in Santa Monica, California, appeared via Teams at the Longueuil courthouse. They did not speak before judge Jean-Philippe Marcoux, contenting themselves with saying that they understood the sentence pronounced against them.
PHOTO FROM THE JF & G RECORDS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Geneviève Cloutier and Jean-François Gagnon
Their sentence is a common suggestion from both parties, ratified by the judge. “We believe the sentence is appropriate. The victims did not recover their losses, but we avoided a trial which could have lasted around three weeks,” AMF lawyer Camille Rochon-Lamy underlined in court.
“Co-conspirators”
The main people responsible for the financing are Mark-Érik Fortin and Karine Lamarre, another couple from the South Shore, who solicit funds to then send them to Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier, indicates the written document in which the latter acknowledge their guilt and incriminate those who are described as their “co-conspirators”.
PHOTO ANDRÉ PICHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Karine Lamarre and Mark-Érik Fortin, in 2015
Mark-Érik Fortin and Karine Lamarre, whose trial has lasted since 2016 following criminal proceedings brought by the AMF, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a total of 79 charges. They have not yet received their sentence due to numerous strategies used to delay the legal process. The AMF is calling for a prison sentence in their case.
At the time the charges were filed against the Fortin-Lamarre couple, the AMF investigation had made it possible to identify 2.7 million collected from 140 savers and around ten companies.
“Extravagant lifestyle”
The Gagnon-Cloutier couple, based in California and traveling all over the world, use the funds collected to shoot film sequences and record songs, but also for personal expenses, such as renting cars and luxury villas, as well as as the expenses of his children’s governess. Over the years, the couple has released several videos filmed in New York, Los Angeles, London, Jerusalem, Rome, Marrakech, Dubai and Kenya, among others.
Lovaganza’s name has been abandoned by the couple, who now broadcast their videos with the signature “JF & G”.
PHOTO FROM THE JF & G RECORDS INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier
At the trial of their co-conspirators, in November 2021, an AMF investigator explained the functioning of the group and the mechanisms by which investors finance the activities of the Gagnon-Cloutier couple: the funds are paid in cash, by check or by Interac transfer, or credit cards are made available to the couple. Sometimes investors pay certain suppliers, such as production companies, themselves.
“Short films were produced, but the money is also used to support the extravagant lifestyle of Jean-François Gagnon and his family,” explained investigator Jonathan Gabriele. He, his wife, their children and the babysitter travel all over the world, there are six of them. »
They participate in social events, they have organized social events in Cannes. They live a rich life to attract the eye of producers. They experiment with different creative concepts at the expense of investors.
Investigator Jonathan Gabriele
To describe the project, Jonathan Gabriele used the word “megalomania”.
He recalled that the creators of Lovaganza had claimed to have the support of big names in Hollywood, such as Steven Spielberg, before having to retract when the lawyers of the famous American director knew that they were using his name.
“The file is not closed”
Why did the AMF limit the accusations against Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier to the period 2014-2015, knowing that the solicitation lasted much longer? “The file is not necessarily closed,” replied AMF spokesperson Sylvain Théberge. “The accused admitted their guilt, they still received a significant fine, so we are satisfied. »
One of the investors, who says he has sunk around $30,000 in this affair, is saddened by the fact that several vulnerable people have lost their retirement money, while being promised incredible returns. “We were quite naive, frankly, to be involved in this gimmick, but we thought we were doing something for peace. We thought these people were sincere,” laments Mario Mancini, a Montreal entrepreneur.
In 2017, 75 complainants filed complaints of fraud with the City of Montreal Police Service against the two couples. The file was then transferred to the Sûreté du Québec, but no criminal charges were filed.
What is the Lovaganza Project?
In 2010, two South Shore couples teamed up to produce a series of blockbuster films, intended to finance a humanitarian project and a human chain around the world for peace, events that never came to fruition.
At least 20 million were allegedly raised from 650 people, who were promised returns representing five or ten times their stake.
Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier, accused by the AMF of having illegally solicited investments, have just been fined $600,000, while a prison sentence is requested for Mark-Érik Fortin and Karine Lamarre , who return to court next month.