Calgary man charged in alleged $164 million Ponzi scheme involving more than 1,000 victims
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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In the courts
- RCMP charged 49-year-old Craig Michael Thompson with fraud and money laundering over an alleged $164 million Ponzi scheme.
- Investigators say Thompson falsely presented himself as a one-man investment firm and sent investors fabricated account updates between March 2020 and April 2024.
- The Alberta Securities Commission previously described the case as a classic Ponzi scheme, with most investor funds allegedly diverted to external accounts and used to pay purported returns.
Craig Michael Thompson allegedly turned a one-man investment operation into what Alberta securities regulators called a “classic Ponzi scheme, dressed up as a modern trading success story.” More than 1,000 people are accused of losing money in the alleged $164 million fraud.
The 49-year-old Calgary man was arrested on July 31 and faces two charges of fraud and money laundering. RCMP say that from March 2020 to April 2024, he accepted funds through his company, Black Box Management, while telling investors he would use the money for day trading.
The vast majority of investor funds, however, were misappropriated and used to pay other investors their purported returns.
Investors allegedly received regular email updates showing their accounts growing and generating strong returns. Investigators determined that the updates used material plagiarized from online sources. The Alberta Securities Commission said the figures were fabricated and that investors were shown significant gains even though their actual balances were effectively zero.
The numbers made up.
The commission said Thompson used only a relatively small portion of the funds for day trading. Those trades failed, producing a cumulative net loss of nearly US$15 million. Investigators allege that almost all of the remaining money, about $163 million, moved to external accounts, including Thompson’s personal trading account and an investment in a U.S.-based company. Much of the money allegedly paid other investors their supposed returns.
The investigation also linked Thompson to Intelsense Investment Corp., Invader Management Ltd. and Attebyte Investment Corp. In August 2025, the Alberta Securities Commission sanctioned Thompson and two companies he controlled for securities misconduct, including fraud. He is scheduled to appear in Calgary court on Thursday. RCMP asked anyone who believes they were defrauded in connection with the investigation to contact police.
dressed up as a modern trading success story
About this summary
Originally published by Global News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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