RCMP charge Calgary man for allegedly running $164M Ponzi scheme

RCMP charge Calgary man for allegedly running $164M Ponzi scheme

49-year-old charged with criminal offences relating to fraud and money laundering

The RCMP have charged a Calgary man after he allegedly misappropriated more than $164 million in investor funds from more than 1,000 victims.

Police allege that between March 2020 and April 2024 Craig Michael Thompson, 49, misappropriated the funds via his company, Black Box Management, in a large-scale Ponzi scheme.

Thompson was arrested by the RCMP’s Federal Policing Northwest Region’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team on July 31, and charged with fraud and laundering proceeds of crime.

Police said on Tuesday that Thompson, while representing himself as a one-man investment firm, received funds from Black Box investors with the understanding he would use the money for day trading. He would then send weekly email updates to investors about the performance and growth of their accounts.

After investigating the case, police said they found information in the email updates was allegedly plagiarized from online sources, and that out of the $164 million inbound funds, Thompson allegedly transferred more than $163 million to other external accounts, including his own personal trading account and an investment in a U.S.-based company.

Police allege their investigation also links Thompson to several other invoice businesses including Intelsense Investment Corp., Invader Management Ltd., and Attebyte Investment Corp.

When contacted by CBC News on Tuesday, Thompson’s lawyer said he and his client had no comment to provide on the charges.

Thompson is scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary on Sept. 3.

Last summer, the Alberta Securities Commission convicted Thompson of securities fraud and ordered him to pay $8.8 million in penalties and costs for an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Thompson has not been convicted in criminal court.

On Tuesday, police said they are encouraging people who believe they may have been a victim of fraud related to this investigation to contact them.

Andrew Jeffrey is a multimedia journalist with CBC Calgary. He previously worked for CBC News in his hometown of Edmonton, reported for the StarMetro Calgary, and worked as an editor for Toronto-based magazines Strategy and Realscreen. You can reach him at andrew.jeffrey@cbc.ca.