Self-directed RRSP promoter guilty of orchestrating a fraud of over $3
million

MONTREAL, July 26 /CNW Telbec/ - Jacques Gagné, a Longueuil self-directed RRSP promoter, was found guilty of tax evasion at the Longueuil courthouse last Friday. His sentence hearing will be held at a later date.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) investigation revealed that, for the 1997 to 1999 tax years, Mr. Gagné enabled 152 taxpayers to avoid reporting a total of $3,292,050 withdrawn from their registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), their registered pension plans (RPPs), or their locked-in retirement accounts (LIRAs), thus enabling them to evade a total of $623,033 in income tax. Many of the taxpayers involved were recruited through deceitful advertisements published in newspapers.

To make it possible for the taxpayers to benefit from their cash assets without paying the taxes owing, Mr. Gagné secured accountant certifications attesting that the shares purchased were in fact a "qualified investment" to a self-directed RRSP. The scheme consisted of using the funds withdrawn to acquire shares from "dummy" corporations, which, in fact, were owned by Mr. Gagné, namely 9056-2927 Québec Inc. (Servitek 2000); 9058-9557 Québec Inc. (Educamax); Énergie GYD Inc.; Les Immeubles RV (1986) Inc.; and 9063-3223 Québec Inc. (Services Financiers Mackenzie).

In January 2008, Laurent Boulianne, a salesman for Mr. Gagné at the time, was found guilty of tax evasion in a similar scheme. He was fined $37,500 for enabling 16 taxpayers to not declare $350,300.

The CRA publishes tax alerts on its Web site to warn taxpayers about schemes that promise tax-free withdrawals. For more information, see the following tax alerts: Warning: Investing in schemes that promise you tax free withdrawals from RRSPs and RRIFs could result in the loss of your retirement savings (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/lrts/2009/l090317-eng.html) and Owners of self-directed RRSPs should use caution with tax-free withdrawal schemes (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/lrts/2005/051110-eng.html).

Canadian taxpayers must have confidence in the fairness of the tax system. To maintain that confidence, the CRA is determined to hold tax evaders accountable for their actions.

The information in this news release was obtained from the court records.

Additional information on convictions can be found on the Media page of the CRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/convictions.

For further information: For media: Kareen Dionne, Communications Manager, Telephone: [phone], ext. 8288, Toll-free: 1-800-292-3430, ext. 8288