An incredible story of gold bars and investments of tens of millions of dollars would be the source of the collapse of Solution Highpoint, this Montreal company in the cinema sector which today risks dismantling.
This is what we learn from a recent report by Raymond Chabot, the receiver responsible, among other things, for shedding light on the sudden disappearance of hundreds of thousands — perhaps millions — of dollars from the coffers of the company, until then. financed by the National Bank of Canada (NBC).
For the record, remember that following a request from the financial institution, the Court urgently ordered, in July, the appointment of a receiver. Without delay, the latter has since taken control of Solution Highpoint, fired the CEO and its chief financial officer and put all of its assets up for sale.
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Gold Broker, Africa
The receiver’s report paints a portrait of a fast-growing company, founded and owned by businessman Jean-François Dubé, who, after going into heavy debt to finance his growth, was seduced by the promises of a businessman posing as a “gold broker” for African mines.
This man, a man named Pierre Gaston, from Montreal, verbally undertakes, in 2021, to pay $100 million into his business. The proposal interests Mr. Dubé, despite the unfavorable opinion of the BNC.
In addition to relieving him of significant debts (more than $11 million), it would allow him, among other things, to buy out the stake of his co-shareholder, the Culture and Communications Investment Fund.
Photo taken from LinkedIn
Pierre Gaston, who promised the Montreal-based company tens of millions of dollars in investments.
Millions stuck in Toronto
The problem is that Pierre Gaston does not really have the funds in his possession. These funds, he explains, would come from obtaining a bank line of credit in advance, in return for a guarantee taken on a hoard of 575 kilos of gold in the form of ingots and US$6 million in silver. cash belonging to him.
However, this treasure apparently resulting from his brokerage activities on behalf of African mines with “European and Canadian banks” has been stored for four years at Lester B. Pearson airport in Toronto, with no apparent possibility of accessing it.
This is how, according to the sequestrator’s report, Jean-François Dubé would have found himself wanting to help Pierre Gaston to certify and release these ingots stuck in Toronto, against the unwritten promise that the latter would subsequently invest no less than $100 million in Solution Highpoint.
Travel and Transfers in Ghana
In addition to providing him with a company car and paying him several trips to Africa, Highpoint would have made between January and May 2022 a series of disbursements, all in favor of Pierre Gaston, supports the National Bank.
In total, it is a “minimum” of $895,000 that Highpoint would have advanced or paid to the investor without having informed the National Bank. These disbursements, made without his knowledge, would have led to a major and rapid deterioration in the company’s liquidity.
Jean-François Dubé and Pierre Gaston did not respond to our interview request. For its part, arguing “legal proceedings”, the National Bank declined our invitation.
Investors interested in all or part of Highpoint’s assets have until September 12 to come forward. If all goes according to plan, all of these assets — including the contracts — will have found takers by October.
– With Philippe Langlois, from the Bureau of Investigation
Pierre Gaston, from promoter of a heliport to gold dealer
But who exactly is this Montrealer from the Saint-Henri district, apparently the owner of about fifty gold bars stuck at Toronto’s Pearson airport, and who today would be involved in the rout of Solution Highspeed?
To find out more, The newspaper tried unsuccessfully in the past few days to communicate with Pierre Gaston. Research has nevertheless enabled us to confirm that the latter presents an atypical course.
Montrealers, for example, will be surprised to find that in addition to working in the precious metals trade, Pierre Gaston is also the promoter and largest shareholder of Héliport Montréal Centre-ville.
Despite the efforts made, this project, applauded by Mayor Denis Coderre at another time, has been struggling for twelve years to see the light of day.
Almost empty accounts
His Linkedin profile also presents Pierre Gaston as a “calm and efficient leader”, co-founder of the Ingrid Betancourt Foundation, having worked “in more than fifteen countries” (CARE, Red Cross, French Embassy), and skilled in seizing “opportunities” to “transform them into profit”.
However, during checks at the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, National Bank discovered that Pierre Gaston has availed himself of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act three times in recent years (1990, 2017 and 2019), which had the effect of arousing his suspicions.
Raymond Chabot later discovered that during the first six months of 2022, nearly a million dollars would have been paid by Solution Highpoint to Pierre Gaston or his import-export company.
Funds that would have, at least in part, been transferred since to Ghana and Florida.
Anxious to recover these sums, Raymond Chabot seized his company’s accounts at the TD Bank this summer. As of July 8, however, the balance in that account was down to $182.24.