Ex-Norbourg boss approved for day parole

Vincent Lacroix, the former Norbourg president jailed for operating a financial scam that bankrupted thousands of investors out of more than $100 million, has been approved for day parole.

The National Parole Board says the ex-CEO of the Montreal-based investment firm, who is serving eight-and-a-half years in prison, will go through a two-step day-parole process when he becomes eligible at the end of the month.

The board says the first phase will last nine months and see him perform community service, including 96 hours a month working with people living with physical disabilities and in low-income households.

The second stage will grant Lacroix standard day parole, and he will be permitted to get a job until he is eligible for full parole.

During the entire day-parole period, Lacroix will live in a halfway house or another Correctional Service of Canada establishment.

Lacroix was sentenced to 12 years less a day in prison in January 2008 for masterminding a massive investment scam that bilked 9,200 mostly small-time investors out of $115 million.

A few months later, a Quebec judge reduced Lacroix's sentence by 42 months.

The 42-year-old still faces more than 100 criminal charges of fraud and conspiracy in a case that is set to begin in September.