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Written by Rollande Parent, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Thursday, 24 July 2008 |
Jean Lafleur, former owner of Lafleur Communication and Marketing, responds to a question at the Gomery commission in this March 3, 2005 file photo in Montreal. CP PICTURE ARCHIVE/Ryan Remiorz
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MONTREAL - Following his son's example, disgraced formed advertising executive Jean Lafleur has filed for bankruptcy, threatening to leave Ottawa on the hook for more than $7 million.
Lafleur was handed 42-month prison sentence last year and ordered to pay a $1.5-million fine for his role in the sponsorship scandal.
The 67-year-old was recently released from jail, and indicated in court documents that he was unable to pay the fine.
He blamed his financial woes on his "criminal conviction."
According to the documents, Lafleur sold his home near Sutton, Que. in 2005 for $1.5 million.
His lawyer deposited the money in a bank account in Liechtenstein, which Lafleur then accessed to live in Costa Rice and Belize until he turned himself in to police in April 2007.
He still owes Revenue Canada $181,000, Revenue Quebec $174,000 and $1.3 million of his fine.
The federal government is also seeking $6.5 million from Lafleur in a civil suit that is to get underway this fall.
Ottawa is trying to recoup funds that Lafleur over billed the government for sponsorship work.
His company, Lafleur Communication Marketing, made $36 million in royalties from federal contracts between 1994 and 2000.
Government lawyer Sylvain Lussier said Thursday that he intends to ask federal bankruptcy authorities to examine Lafleur's filings closely.
Lafleur's son, Eric, declared himself broke in 2007 and settled a $2 million civil suit with Ottawa by agreeing to pay back $150,000 over 10 years.
Eric Lafleur served as a subcontractor for his father's firm.
Jean Lafleur pleaded guilty to 28 counts of sponsorship-related fraud after giving 76 fake bills to Charles Guite, the bureaucrat who was responsible for the program in the federal government's Public Works Department in the 1990s.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
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