Sep 4, 2026
The RCMP has charged a Calgary man with fraud and money laundering in connection with a Ponzi scheme that purportedly swindled more than $164 million from over 1,000 investors across Canada and the US.
The size and structure of the scam — a single, unregistered “investment firm” quietly collecting money for four years before collapsing — is a reminder of how hard it can be to spot these setups from the outside, and how much investors rely on a handful of basic checks to protect themselves.
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Here’s what the police say took place, what regulators had already flagged about the man involved and the concrete steps Canadians can take to check whether an advisor or investment opportunity is legitimate.
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How this scam allegedly played out
The RCMP’s Federal Policing Northwest Region Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) arrested and charged Craig Michael Thompson, 49, of Calgary, on July 31. The unit alleged that between March 2020 and April 2024, Thompson misappropriated more than $164 million from over 1,000 investors through his company, Black Box Management Corp., while representing himself as a one-man investment firm.
Investors were told their money would be used for day trading and received weekly email updates showing consistent gains. However, investigators later determined that the content of those updates was plagiarized from online sources, and that of the $164 million that came in, more than $163 million was allegedly moved out to other accounts — including Thompson’s personal trading account and an investment in a US-based company. Thompson was also purportedly linked to three related businesses: Intelsense Investment Corp., Invader Management Ltd. and Attebyte Investment Corp. He faces two counts of fraud and one count of laundering the proceeds of crime, and is scheduled to appear in Alberta’s Court of Justice in Calgary on September 3, 2026.
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Regulators had already flagged this case
This isn’t the first time Thompson’s business has drawn regulatory scrutiny. In August 2025, the Alberta Securities Commission sanctioned Thompson and two of his companies after finding they’d raised $150 million from investors on the promise of day-trading returns, ultimately lost close to US$15 million in unsuccessful trades and used most of the remaining money to pay the purported returns to other investors. The commission ordered the companies to disgorge millions of dollars and pay administrative penalties. Cynthia Campbell, the ASC’s director of enforcement, described it as “a classic Ponzi scheme, dressed up as a modern trading success story.”
The red flags that tend to show up in cases like this
Ponzi schemes rely on investors not looking too closely, but a few patterns show up again and again in schemes like this one:
- Returns that are unusually steady or high, even when markets are volatile
- One person controlling both the trading and the reporting, with no independent, third-party account statements
- Pressure to reinvest gains rather than withdraw them
- A firm or individual that isn’t registered with a provincial securities regulator
None of these proves fraud on its own, but together they’re a reasonable trigger to ask harder questions before investing more money.
How to check if an advisor or investment is legitimate
Before investing with any individual or firm, Canadians can use the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search to confirm whether that person or entity is registered to sell securities or give investment advice in their province or territory. The same tool also shows whether a registrant has any disciplinary history. Anyone trading securities or offering investment advice in Canada is required to be registered unless a specific exemption applies, and registration means the person or business meets minimum qualification standards.
It’s also worth asking directly: who holds my money, and can I get a statement from that custodian independent of my advisor? A legitimate investment will have paperwork from a bank, brokerage or trust company — not just an email from the person managing it.
What happens next
Thompson’s case is now before the courts, and the allegations against him have not been proven. For Canadians who believe they may have been affected by this specific case, or who suspect they’ve encountered a similar scheme, the RCMP encourages contacting local police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. For anyone about to hand money to a new advisor or firm, the more useful takeaway is upstream of any fraud case: a five-minute registration check, before money changes hands, is the simplest safeguard available.
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Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
