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Montréal Business Man Charged with Fraud over $ 10 million
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Montréal, Thursday July 9, 2009 – As a result of an investigation on allegations of fraud estimated at more than $10 million a charge was filed against Claude Pantaloni, a 63-year-old Montréal business man. This investigation was led by the members of the Integrated Bankruptcy Team which is part of the RCMP Financial Integrity Program.
The project called Conversion was initiated in September 2003 in response to a request for investigation submitted to the RCMP by the Montréal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy in accordance with Section 205 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
Claude Pantaloni, who founded Paie-Maitre P.C inc., provided customized pay management and processing services to approximately 400 businesses. An application for a bankruptcy order was filed against the company by a major Canadian financial institution after unauthorized bank overdrafts were identified. Unable to solve its financial difficulties, Paie-Maitre P.C inc. was forced to file for bankruptcy in September 2002.
The investigation which led to the charge revealed that before the company was declared bankrupt, Claude Pantaloni allegedly used a technique known as kiting to commit the fraud. This electronic transaction fraud scheme takes advantage of the time delay between the moment the financial institution records a cheque deposit and the moment the cheque is cleared.
Claude Pantaloni is due to appear in court in Montréal on September 18, 2009 to face one count of fraud exceeding $5,000 against Scotiabank, under Section 380 (1)(a) of the Criminal Code. The alleged offences were committed between September 1st, 2001 and July 24, 2002.
The Integrated Bankruptcy Team, which led the investigation, includes members of the RCMP and investigators of the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Criminal Investigations Unit. This Team is responsible for fulfilling the federal mandate related to fraudulent bankruptcy investigations. The RCMP Commercial Crime Sections cooperate with the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to help maintain the integrity of the Canadian bankruptcy and insolvency system by investigating related criminal activities.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has made it a priority to fight economic crime and to 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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Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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