The couple from the South Shore of Montreal who are facing justice in the Lovaganza case have used so many tactics to delay legal proceedings that “it seems to be Groundhog Day repeating itself,” denounced a judge from the Court of Quebec, Monday, at the Longueuil courthouse.
“It’s been long enough, it’s been so many times that it comes back in court. Since 2018, we have been waiting in this case, there are people who are victims who are waiting. With the passage of time, it is a strategy that you adopt, ”lamented Judge Marc Bisson, reacting to new requests filed by the accused.
Mark-Érik Fortin and Karine Lamarre finally failed to drag out the legal process once again: despite the fact that they had fired their fourth lawyer, on Monday morning, the judge rejected three new requests from them and the court was able to hear the first witnesses in this case, which the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has been investigating since 2013.
Lovaganza is a project aimed at producing a series of large-scale films and a human chain around the world, intended to finance humanitarian projects. These events and films, initially planned for 2015, never saw the light of day.
Few millions
To finance the project, several million dollars were collected from hundreds of investors, who were promised huge returns, up to 10 times their initial outlay.
Mark-Érik Fortin and his wife, Karine Lamarre, are Lovaganza’s two main fundraisers. They pleaded guilty, in April 2018, to 52 and 27 counts, respectively, related to investment laws. Pleadings on their sentence began on Monday.
The AMF is calling for a prison sentence for the couple.
The heads of the project, Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier, identified as producers, directors and screenwriters, are also being sued by the AMF and will have a separate trial.
The money collected by the Fortin-Lamarre duo was used to finance the international peregrinations of the Gagnon-Cloutier couple, who shot videos, recorded songs and staged photo shoots around the world. .
“Extravagant lifestyle”
On Monday, AMF investigator Jonathan Gabriele, the first witness to appear before the judge, recounted what he found while investigating the Lovaganza case. He explained how the group works 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 else credit cards are made available to the couple. Sometimes investors pay certain suppliers themselves, such as production companies.
“Short films have been produced, but the agent is also used to support the extravagant lifestyle of Jean-François Gagnon and his family,” said investigator 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 rich lives to catch the eye of producers. They are experimenting with different creative concepts on the backs of investors. ”
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, like Steven Spielberg, before having to retract when the lawyers of the American director knew they were using his name.
The instigators of the project still managed to convince many investors to lend them large sums.
Investigator Gabriele gave the example of a man who invested $ 100,000, being promised that he would receive $ 1 million when a contract was signed with a major Hollywood studio.
In addition to Inspector Gabriele, AMF lawyer, Me Mélanie Béland, has indicated her intention to call eight other witnesses during the observations on the sentence.
“Absolute risk of recurrence”
Me Béland cited 12 aggravating factors to request a prison sentence for the Fortin-Lamarre couple. In particular, she underlined the high number of victims and the large sums involved, in addition to the “exorbitant” returns promised, “absolutely impossible to repay”, she stressed.
“The risk of recurrence is absolute,” she added. The defendants have continued their solicitation since the start of the proceedings against them. ”
According to information obtained by Press in the past, at least 650 people have invested over $ 8.5 million in the project.
On their new website, JF & G’s Terradisio, Jean-François Gagnon and Geneviève Cloutier present several videos showing photoshoots and the recording of musical pieces. The videos have been shot in New York, Los Angeles, London, Jerusalem, Rome, Marrakech, Dubai and Kenya over the past few years.