Vincent Lacroix

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The scandal came into light during the Summer of 2005 after it was discovered by the Autorité des marchés financiers (which is the province's top financial regulator) that $130 million went missing by the company (initial numbers were estimated at $70 million before a report by Ernst & Young revealed that additional money went missing.) On August 25, 2005, police raided the Norbourg headquarters office in Montreal as well as smaller offices in Quebec City and in the Eastern Townships region. After having its assets frozen, the company ceased its operations in October 2005 and filed for bankruptcy. Lacroix himself was declared bankrupt in May 2006 by a provincial judge. A report by Ernst & Young revealed that all firms run by Lacroix including Norbourg Gestion d'actifs, Norbourg Groupe Financier and Fonds Évolution had operational deficits up to $6.5 million in 2005 alone.

The Autorité des marchés financiers had filed 51 charges against Lacroix in March 2006 related to false and misleading information and manipulating mutual fund values. The regulator accused Lacroix for using Norbourg's funds for personal reasons. Twenty-nine funds were affected with 11 of them having nearly no value left and 17 others had $300,000 or less left.