MONTREAL - Authorities are looking for a Montreal financial planner after Quebec's securities regulator froze his accounts Friday amid allegations by clients they had failed to receive interest cheques on their investments.

Sylvain Theberge, a spokesman for the Autorite des marches financiers, said the accounts were nearly empty by the time authorities intervened and that between $30 million and $50 million may be missing.

Local and provincial police as well as securities regulators in the rest of Canada and in the United States have launched an investigation into Bertram Earl Jones and his company.

"An investigation has been opened now concerning allegations of financial fraud," Montreal police Insp. Daniel Rousseau said in an interview.

"At this time we are not able to reveal any information concerning the investigation, about an individual or group of individuals."

Theberge offered a few more details.

"He managed mostly estates," he said. "He contacted people and said `Give me all this and I will take care of everything.'

"For many years Mr. Jones built a trust with investors and used the title of administrative counsellor to manage important sums of money."

A message on Jones' office voice mail informs investors he is not in a position to remit funds and that they should not expect to hear back from him for at least 30 days.

None of the allegations against Jones have been proven in court and he has not yet been charged with any crime.

Brook Hamilton fears his 75-year-old mother Beverley may have lost her entire life savings worth $350,000. He also worries about the fate of her Montreal home after she refinanced it several years ago.

"She not only gave him all her life savings but now has a mortgage that she's paying back to a bank while Earl Jones is allegedly investing those funds," he said.

He said his mother and other relatives had been investing with Jones for 25 years without a problem.

"This relationship seemed to be strong," he said. "Seemed to be working well from the outside looking in.

Hamilton said his mother's interest cheque did not arrive around June 1 and that the following month's did not come either.

Investors are planning to meet at a Montreal hotel on Sunday to discuss the matter and have already launched a Facebook page dedicated to their cause. Many have also left nasty "reviews" on the Google Maps company page.

Records show Jones has been in business since 1984.