For 75-year-old Michele Gravino – who lost $150,000 in a Mount Real investment scam – it’s been a longtime coming.
A Quebec Court judge has authorized a class action lawsuit against Lino Matteo, the former head of Mount Real, and a number of accounting firms.
Victims claim the companies supported Matteo with his Ponzi scheme, which was broken up in 2005.
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More than 1,600 investors lost a combined $130 million in the scandal.
“I’m 75-years-old, I’m supposed to be enjoying my retirement”, said Gravino, a former shoe store owner.
“We have many sad stories in our office,” Bruce Johnston, a lawyer for the victims, told Global News. “We know of a restaurant owner who sold his business and invested every penny of the sale into Mount Real. He lost it all.”
Lawyers in the class action lawsuit say it could be at least two, maybe three, years before opening statements are heard in court.
“Victims will have to be patient,” Johnston said.
Gravino hopes both sides come to an out-of-court settlement – similar to what was seen in the Norbourg scandal.
“I want my money now. It’s not fair,” he said.
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