(Stevens LeBlanc/QMI Agency)

QUEBEC CITY - An alleged financial scam in Quebec City has proved embarrassing for police who usually pursue such crooks.

Two senior police officers in the provincial capital are among six people accused of ripping off cops, business leaders and other investors in an alleged million-dollar fraud scheme.

The police officers, Jacques Andre and Dennis Nadeau, were administrators at the Nemex firm that's currently being investigated by Quebec's financial watchdog, the AMF.

The defendants are accused of illegal brokering and investing.

About a dozen Quebec City police officers, some of them alleged to have been solicited while on duty, are believed to be among the 40 victims.

An internal police investigation is underway and the two senior officers have been assigned to foot patrol, said police spokesman Denis Pelletier.

"These facts are worrisome," he said this week. "But on the other hand it's not a criminal matter, so they're still working."

The six defendants have 30 days to enter a plea.

They face nearly $2 million dollars in fines, if found guilty.

Nemex went bankrupt in 2009.