AMF secures injunction against fraudsman

Citing concerns that a twice-convicted fraudsman is once again trying to scam his former victims, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has secured a temporary injunction from Quebec’s Superior Court.

The regulator said that it has obtained an emergency injunction against Asim Ahmed — who has twice been sentenced to jail terms on fraud charges, first in 2011 and again in 2015, and remains subject to freeze and prohibition orders from the AMF in 2014, for unregistered dealing and advising activity.

Now, the AMF has obtained an injunction against Ahmed that seeks to stop him from distributing false documents that purport to be from the AMF and the Supreme Court of Canada — in connection with an alleged new scheme.

The AMF said that its latest investigation found that Ahmed is approaching former victims claiming that he successfully sued the Quebec regulator and the provincial government “for purported physical abuse he suffered while in prison and purported theft of money by AMF investigators during a search of his home” —  but that he needs money to pay fees so that he can collect on the lawsuit and payback his victims.

“To make his misrepresentations credible to his former victims, Asim Ahmed appears to have provided some of the former victims with false documents, including a final notice of file closure and a confirmation of remittance, both bearing the AMF logo, as well as documents presented as judgments issued by the Supreme Court of Canada,” the regulator reported.

Those allegations have not been proven.

The provisional injunction issued by the Superior Court of Québec orders Ahmed to “immediately cease using and distributing, to anyone, the documents in question and any copies of those documents,” the AMF reported.

That initial injunction will expire Nov. 11. At that point, the AMF will seek to have it renewed as an interlocutory injunction that will remain valid until a “judgment on the merits is rendered in this matter,” it said.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.