MONTREAL -After 11 days of deliberation, jurors in the case of five men accused in the Norbourg financial scandal said the trial was too large and complicated to reach a verdict.
Quebec Supreme Court Justice Richard Wagner said a new trial date will be set in March.
The accused have been described as the team behind financier Vincent Lacroix, who was convicted of defrauding investors of $115 million over a five-year period.
Lacroix is serving a 13-year prison sentence for his part in the fraud.
The five men are facing a total of 722 charges of fraud, conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to commit forgery, fabricating documents and money laundering.
They are: former Norbourg general manager Serge Beugre (174 charges); computer technician Felicien Souka (174 charges); controller Jean Cholette (150 charges); independent auditor and accountant Remi Deschambault (131 charges); and consultant and former Quebec Finance Department employee Jean Renaud (93 charges).
In Quebec City, Justice Minister Kathleen Veil said most observers agree the Norbourg case is complicated.
"I think it is probably the most complex white-collar crime case that Quebec has had," she told reporters.
Lacroix shocked the courtroom in September by pleading guilty to the nearly 200 similar counts against him. His sentence was the country’s harshest for a white-collar crime.
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