Montréal, Wednesday, July 30, 2008 – An investigation by the members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commercial Crime Section into allegations of fraud and breach of trust against bankruptcy trustee Henry Sztern of the firm Henry Sztern & Associés Inc. led to the filing of 26 charges against Henry Sztern on July 21, 2008.
The alleged offences involve fraudulent transactions in the trustee's trust accounts totalling $929,197.57 that took place between January 3, 1992 and March 31, 2003.
The investigation was launched in 2003 following a complaint from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. As a result of the work of the investigators, 13 court briefs were drafted totalling 13,520 pages which were submitted to the Crown Prosecutors' Office in February 2007.
The police investigation required the review of more than 28 trust accounts related to proposals, personal bankruptcies or corporate bankruptcies administered by trustee Sztern. The investigators also obtained statements from current and former employees of the trustee as well as employees from a number of financial institutions in the Montréal area. The investigation revealed that the accounts could contain illegal and fraudulent transactions made by trustee Sztern.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police cooperates with the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to help maintain the integrity of the bankruptcy and insolvency system by investigating related criminal activities.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has made it a priority to fight economic crime and ensure the financial integrity of Canadian institutions and businesses in order to preserve consumers' confidence in our country's economic and financial structures.
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For information:
Communications Office
Montréal: 514-939-8308
