The man at the centre of one of Canada's biggest financial scandals wants to get out of prison after serving less than 20 months in jail.
Vincent Lacroix, former president of the now-defunct Norbourg group of companies, is asking a judge Wednesday to grant him bail so that he can apply for day parole.
He was convicted in December 2007 of 51 counts of securities fraud for fleecing more than 9,000 investors of at least $115 million through shady accounting practices.
Investigators say that some of the money was used to purchase personal belongings and to make personal investments.
Lacroix was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison but a judge later ruled the sentence was too harsh and reduced the term to eight-and-a-half years.
Under Canadian law, parole eligibility for first-time, non-violent offenders kicks in after a convict has served just one-sixth of their sentence.
But Lacroix won't be eligible for day parole unless he's granted bail for the more recent criminal counts.
Co-Conspirators
In June of last year, the RCMP charged Lacroix and six other men with counts including forgery, fraud and money laundering.
- With files from ctvmontreal.ca -
