Lacroix pleads guilty to fraud

Former Norbourg CEO Vincent Lacroix pleaded guilty Monday to nearly 200 fraud charges.

Lacroix was set to stand trial along with five former associates, but he told Quebec Superior Court that he wanted to change his plea to guilty.

He was immediately taken into custody and likely won't be returning to the Montreal halfway house where he has been living since the summer.

The fraud trial by jury will continue for his five co-accused, the court said.

Lacroix had already begun serving a prison term for securities law violations after he was convicted in 2007. That sentence was reduced, and he was set to get full parole on Sept. 27.

He was charged with the violations after more than $100 million disappeared from his investment firm, most of it money from about 9,200 small-time investors.

Lacroix is scheduled to return to court on Friday, Sept. 25, for sentencing arguments in the fraud case.

Lacroix 'always wanted' to plead guilty

Lacroix's lawyer, Marie-Hélène Giroux, declined to reveal any details of negotiations with the Crown prosecutors prior to her client's guilty plea on Monday.

But she told reporters outside the Montreal courthouse that Lacroix was always set on acknowledging his guilt.

"He always wanted to plead guilty," Giroux said, but he was waiting for outstanding legal issues to be worked out.

Lacroix's plea will make jury selection for the five remaining accused men much easier, she said, adding she "always thought it would be really difficult to find an impartial jury" given the case's high profile. 

Giroux said her client now needs additional security in prison. 

"He had trouble at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention centre, and we have asked for extra protection."

Victims have mixed feelings

The guilty plea surprised many watchers Monday morning, including hundreds of investors who fell victim to the fraud scam.

Victim Jean-Guy Houle saw his investment of $195,000 disappear — money that was supposed to help pay for the education of his two granddaughters.

"If Vincent Lacroix had to answer questions [in court] we would have gotten information, and we could have known where the money went," Houle said.

"We will probably never know what really happened," said Pierre Gravel, another investor.

"But we are saving the Quebec taxpayers a lot of money when we know that this type of [trial usually] lasts from three to four years. So, we're happy in that sense."

Other victims, including Wilhem Pellman, said recovering lost money is now the top priority.

Pellman and several other investors are waiting to learn when the court will hear their class-action lawsuit seeking damages.