MONTREAL - It's been one year since Quebec's securities regulator froze the accounts of disgraced financial planner Earl Jones and launched an investigation into his activities.

On Saturday, 85 of his victims gathered in the same Montreal-area hotel where 12 months ago they first met to take stock of the financial damage.

This time around, a fierce determination has muscled in on the despair of that initial nightmare gathering.

"The shell-shocked look that we all saw a year ago has been replaced by a degree of concern, but not panic," said Kevin Curran, whose mother lost thousands in the massive Ponzi scheme.

"That's been tempered with this incredible resolve these people have and a belief the system to address their losses will in some way compensate them. With a plan, there can be some confidence."

In January, Jones pleaded guilty to two charges related to defrauding investors of about $50 million and was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Despite that victory, many former clients of the disgraced Quebec financial adviser still struggle daily with their finances.

The scam cost many people their entire life savings and none of the money has been recovered.

Six victims have lost their homes and 11 more face possible eviction when their mortgage relief runs out in August.

For victims, the light at the end of the tunnel is the ongoing effort to launch a class-action lawsuit against the Royal Bank of Canada, said Joey Davis, whose mother lost 90 per cent of her life savings to Jones.

"It's not just faint hope," he said. "I think it's real optimism."

Former clients of the financial adviser allege a Montreal-area branch of the bank was aware of irregularities in the Jones account but did nothing.

Next week, their lawyers will file a motion seeking authorization to form a civil class actions lawsuit against the bank.

The group's lawyers said it was unlikely the bank would contest the motion. A judge must still authorize the request for the suit.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The suit is only one of the actions the group has taken and Davis is quick to list the accomplishments of the past 12 months.

"We've achieved success on so many fronts so quickly," he said.

"We've shone a light on the nature of white-collar crime in Canada. And as a victims movement we're getting a lot of respect from the media and by the government. They're waking up to the notion white-collar crime is very serious."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper tabled a bill last fall seeking tougher sentences for white-collar crime but it died when Parliament was prorogued last December.

The bill was revived in May.

Still, the group is less optimistic their efforts to keep Jones in jail will be successful. Jones can seek day parole after serving just one-sixth of his sentence, roughly 22 months.

Davis said the victims will petition the National Parole Board when the time comes and will continue to lobby Ottawa for changes to the law that would strike down the accelerated release program.

Curran said the group may have been victims once -- but will not be victimized again.

Davis echoed his comments.

"We're going to keep fighting," he said. "And we're not going away."