The RCMP has filed criminal charges against a Calgary man who was previously sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) in connection with an alleged Ponzi scheme that took more than $150 million from investors.
In August 2025, the ASC sanctioned Craig Michael Thompson and two companies that he controlled, Black Box Management Corp. and Invader Management Ltd., for securities violations. They admitted, in an agreed statement of facts, to raising $150 million from investors in a scheme that promised returns from day trading, but ultimately lost US$15 million in unsuccessful trading and used most of the rest of investors’ money to pay purported returns to other investors.
In addition to banning them, a regulatory hearing panel also ordered them to disgorge $8.1 million, and pay an administrative penalty of $750,000 and costs of $14,000.
Now, the RCMP’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team in Calgary has arrested and charged Thompson with two counts of fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with the scheme.
Police allege that, between March 2020 and April 2024, more than $164 million in investor funds was misappropriated from over 1,000 investors that were told their money would be used for day trading.
Investors received weekly email updates about the performance and growth of their accounts that, police say, were “plagiarized from various online sources.”
They also alleged that more than $163 million of investors’ money was transferred to external accounts, including Thompson’s personal trading account and an investment in a U.S. company.
“The investigation also revealed that the accused was linked to several other invoice factoring and investment-related businesses: Intelsense Investment Corp., Invader Management Ltd. and Attebyte Investment Corp.,” police said.
The criminal charges have not been proven.
Thompson is scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary on Sept. 3.