At the request of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), a provisional administrator will take control of Élan Future to protect the public. The company that claims it can “end the energy crisis” has attracted investments totaling $8.9 million. The money was instead used to pay its owner’s personal expenses.
The story so far
September 2020: Élan Future is created. The Granby company promises to revolutionize the energy sector thanks to “parametric resonance” technology which would allow the autonomy of electric vehicles to be multiplied “by 10”.
December 2023: The AMF obtains orders from the Administrative Tribunal for Financial Markets to block the accounts of companies belonging to Jérôme-Olivier Malo, owner of Élan Future. They would have made investments through contracts linked to their cryptocurrency without having the necessary authorizations.
May 2024: At the request of the AMF, the Superior Court of Quebec orders the appointment of a provisional administrator of Mr. Malo’s companies to ensure their supervision and protect the public.
“A significant portion of the assets [d’Élan Future] was used for a purpose other than that for which it was intended,” explains the AMF in a press release published Friday.
The guardian of financial markets specifies that “embezzlement, embezzlement or breach of trust were committed in particular by Jérôme-Olivier Malo”, owner of the company.
Already, in December, the AMF had obtained orders to block the accounts of companies belonging to Mr. Malo. This time, it is the Superior Court of Quebec which orders the appointment of a provisional administrator for Élan Future and other companies owned by Mr. Malo. The mandate of this administrator is to protect the public by monitoring business operations.
Over the past few years, investors have injected more than 8.9 million into Élan Future through contracts linked to Elan Coin, a cryptocurrency created by the company.
The Granby company claims to have developed a “sophisticated energy amplifier” which would make it possible to multiply “the autonomy by 10” of electric vehicles and to recharge their batteries only once every two months. By relying on the concept of “parametric resonance”, this technology could “put an end to the energy crisis”, according to Élan Future.
However, almost all of the amounts received would not have been used for activities related to the development of the technology. In a first decision rendered by the court in December, it was argued that “only approximately $622,357.39 of the cash outflows could possibly be linked to business expenses.”
The AMF believes that Jérôme-Olivier Malo and his companies could have, in fact, deployed “a scheme” where the sums collected from investors “would be used to pay personal expenses”.
So far, the AMF investigation has revealed that the sums advanced by investors were used to purchase two Teslas, a Ducati motorcycle, a Toyota as well as a ship and two buildings.
“In the opinion of the Court, these serious apparent breaches risk causing irreparable harm to the integrity of financial markets and the investing public as well as affecting investor confidence in these markets,” we can read in the judgment which accompanies the December ordinances.
These target Jérôme-Olivier Malo’s companies, but also business partners: Marie-Soleil Baril, Dominik Bilodeau, Alexandre Cossette, Martin Isabelle and Nicolas Maltais. The AMF also indicated to The Press that “notices of dispute” have been filed by some of them, but that no hearing has been scheduled to date.
During an interview given last year to the TradingView site, Jérôme-Olivier Malo maintained that he had put together an experienced team made up of “physicists who challenge the status quo, engineers from Hydro-Québec who have electricity in the veins, financial magicians who see beyond financial results and angel investors who have their eyes fixed on a horizon lit by innovation.
Hydro-Québec spokesperson Jonathan Côté denies these assertions. “We don’t work with that person. He’s really someone we don’t have a connection with. » He adds: “We ourselves found the company’s claims quite astonishing. They are not the first to come up with somewhat miraculous solutions. And generally, when it’s too good to be true, it’s just too good to be true. »