The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) is on the trail of a cryptocurrency enthusiast from Gatineau who boasts of being the youngest owner of a McLaren in Quebec and who allegedly swindled nearly $1.5 million from more than 160 investors.
“Today, I am the youngest McLaren in Quebec! This acquisition (…) represents the many years of enormous losses, sacrifices and doubts that I have overcome to achieve this goal,” wrote Vincent Latreille, 26, on Facebook and Instagram in June 2023.
Of course, the owner of the $200,000 flashy car isn't Vincent Latreille. He instead rented out his mighty McLaren 570GT… receiving nearly $81,000 from investors, according to the AMF.
The financial markets watchdog urgently went to court in early May to order Latreille and four of his associates to cease their operations.
private plane
The young man also likes to publish photos where we see a private jet. “When a meeting room has wings, you know it's going to be a successful day!” He wrote in English on Instagram in August 2023.
The AMF traced a $110,000 payment to a luxury private business jet rental company from one of Latreille's 14 bank accounts. But again, she points out, it's money from investors.
One of Vincent Latreille's publications on Instagram
Screenshot of Vincent Latreille's Instagram page
Between December 2022 and last April, Young and his collaborators managed to raise almost $1.5 million in Interac transfers from 161 investors thanks to their website www.tradingeasy.tech.
To entice them to enroll in this cryptocurrency-based investment platform, they are promised 79% annual returns, 10 times higher than what banks offer.
They claim to have $7 million in assets under “false” management and have “one of the largest banks in the US” as a client, according to the AMF.
www.tradingeasy.tech web page is still active on May 15, 2024
Screenshot from www.tradingeasy.tech
He transfers $1.5 million to his parents
A good part of the investors' money “could find its way to the defendants' bank accounts and personal cryptocurrencies and, in particular, to the defendant Vincent Latreille,” concluded Jean-Pierre Cristal, the administrative judge of the administrative court. Financial Markets Authority in its decision dated May 3.
The younger Latreille also went on to make nearly $1.5 million in transfers to his parents' bank accounts last March and April.
In March, hours after receiving one of the transfers, AMF alleged that his father spent $100,000 to buy two new cars, a Chevrolet Camaro and a Cadillac XT4.
One of Vincent Latreille's Instagram posts
Photo taken from Vincent Latreille's Instagram page
Administrative Judge Crystal authorized the emergency blocking orders for one year to “put an end to the scheme to squander ill-gotten funds.”
“These apparently serious violations (…) risk irreparable harm to the integrity of financial markets and the investing public,” he wrote.
Violations are alleged
His decision was made after an ex-parte hearing, meaning without the presence of Latreille and his gang. The AMF suspects that they signed investment contracts without prospectuses, acted as brokers and fund managers without authorization and provided false or misleading information.
Among the defendants, we identified Crystal Berthiaume, a young woman from Gatineau who appeared with Latreille in travel photos and “actively solicited the public for investment” without registering under the Securities Act, according to the AMF.
Vincent Latreille, Crystal Berthiame and their dog Pierre
Photo taken from Vincent Latreille Facebook page
The regulatory body said its investigation is ongoing and no formal charges have been filed at this time.
Contacted by email and telephone, Vincent Latreille did not respond to our invitation to comment at the time of writing.
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