June 12/2023 Greg Martel – Victoria Ponzi Scheme Fraudster
UPDATE: May 28/2025
Court upholds $71M clawback of investor ‘winnings’ in Victoria Ponzi scheme
May 28, 2025
Greg Martel is wanted by Canadian and U.S. authorities
The B.C. Supreme Court is upholding a claw back order that was contested by a group of investors who received money from a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 1,200 investors of over $300 million.
At a May 16 hearing, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick upheld a claw back order that calls for 561 investors to pay back just over $71 million they received from former Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel, payments the estate’s trustee says represent “fraudulent conveyances” and “fraudulent preferences” under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
Martel’s company, Shop Your Own Mortgage, took $300 million in investments from more than 1,800 investors across the country under the guise of short-term bridge loan investments. He is currently on the run from Canadian and U.S. authorities and is believed to be living in Dubai after his 2023 deportation from Thailand.
Court upholds $71M clawback of investor ‘winnings’ in Victoria Ponzi scheme – Langley Advance Times
https://www.pwc.com/ca/en/services/insolvency-assignments/syo-shopyourownmortgage.html
UPDATE: May 6/2025 CBC
Three men who lost money investing with Ponzi schemer Greg Martel have filed a class action lawsuit against the Royal Bank of Canada, the British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), Martel and the company through which he ran his multi-million-dollar financial fraud. Representative plaintiffs Dustin Frank Renz, David Cumby and Andy Todd Wilson allege in a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court that both the Royal Bank and the BCFSA are liable for losses suffered by 1,229 investors who lost money to Martel because the two entities, despite having clear regulatory duties, failed to detect or prevent Martel’s misconduct.
“These failures — by the bank responsible for processing the majority of investor funds, and the regulator responsible for supervising the mortgage broker— enabled the [Ponzi] scheme to persist unchecked for years, resulting in massive and avoidable investor losses,” reads the claim. According to Meldon Ellis, the lawyer representing the three men, Wilson’s net losses to Martel amounted to $100,000, Renz’s $38,000, and Cumby’s $20,800. “The plaintiffs allege that the scheme could not have resulted in such extensive losses without the involvement — and badge of credibility — provided by a major bank and a licensed regulator,” said Ellis in an email to CBC.
None of the allegations have been tested in court, and the defendants have not yet filed responses. CBC reached out to RBC and BCFSA for comment on the class action. RBC said it was unable to comment on the lawsuit while it is before the court. BCFSA told CBC that after receiving complaints about Martel in 2017 and 2021, it “conducted investigations and determined, based on the evidence, that there was no misconduct within BCFSA’s jurisdiction under the Mortgage Brokers Act.” If certified, the class action will automatically include the other 1,226 investors who, like the representative plaintiffs, were also “net losers” in the Ponzi — in other words, all the investors who received less money back than they put in.
Martel disappeared as his company, My Mortgage Auction Corp. (MMAC), was collapsing in 2023, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Authorities in Canada and the U.S. have issued warrants for Martel’s arrest related to contempt of court, but Martel has not been criminally charged, and an investigation by the B.C. Securities Commission is ongoing.
Last year, court receivership and bankruptcy proceedings heard that the bridge loans Martel was peddling never existed, and that — in classic Ponzi fashion — early investors in his scheme had been paid off with money put in by investors who joined later.
All told, Martel was found to have taken in $301 million and paid out $210 million in the scheme. The remaining $91 million was diverted to pay for his lavish lifestyle, to his failed car-share business, and to losses he suffered trading options, according to analysis by court-appointed receiver and bankruptcy trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Ponzi scheme victims name Royal Bank, B.C. financial services regulator in class action lawsuit
UPDATE: FEB 21/2025
CHEK NEWS
Laura Brougham
While 480 people did come out ahead and make money in the Ponzi scheme by Greg Martel, PricewaterhouseCoopers says 1,229 people lost more than $149 million. In its latest update, PwC detailed the gains and losses made by those who invested in what was later revealed to be a Ponzi scheme run by Martel. The firm lists those who made money as “winners” and those who lost money “losers.”
There were 480 winners, who came out with gains of $68,252,492. The 1,229 losers, however, lost a total of $149,040,030. This means a total overall investment loss of $80,787,538. Additionally, PwC says there were never any Bridge Loans made by My Mortgage Auction Corp. (MMAC). Martel operated the Ponzi scheme through MMAC and received $301 million from investors. PwC says $210 million was repaid to investors, while the remaining $91 million went to trading losses, investments into Martel’s Carshair business and Martel’s lifestyle.
In addition to the 480 winners, PwC identified another 81 investors who were given “Preference Payments” totaling $3,128,983. The next step in the process is a court hearing, scheduled for March 11 and 12, where PwC is seeking the excess funds and preference payments to be recovered and distributed to the losers.
Link to story:
PwC says 1,229 people lost $149M in Greg Martel Ponzi scheme
UPDATE: August 17/2024
‘Canada’s version of Bernie Madoff’:
The rise and fall of Greg Martel
Greg Martel was a mortgage broker who coached his kid’s hockey team and pledged money to charity. By the time he owed investors $317 million, he was nowhere to be found.
‘Canada’s version of Bernie Madoff’: The rise and fall of Greg Martel (cbc.ca)
https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/greg-martel
UPDATE: June 27/2024
B.C. Supreme Court refuses to discharge Greg Martel from bankruptcy
Andrew Duffy • Victoria Times Colonist
Published Jun 26, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
VICTORIA — Disgraced city mortgage broker Greg Martel will not be released from the debts that have been mounting around him. The B.C. Supreme Court has adjourned Martel’s bankruptcy discharge hearing, which means he will remain an “undischarged bankrupt” and his debts of more than $300 million will remain intact. In making the ruling, the court cited the opposition of the trustee overseeing Martel’s bankruptcy and a scathing report the trustee provided in making the case that Martel is not discharged.
The report, prepared by trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers and filed with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, noted Martel had been running a massive Ponzi scheme and investors who are out more than $317 million will never see a dime of that money, which Martel never used to make bridge loans as promised. The report, signed by PwC partner Neil Bunker, said Martel failed to comply with many of the duties required in his own bankruptcy and that of his company, My Mortgage Auction Corp.
Court refuses to discharge Victoria’s Greg Martel from bankruptcy | Vancouver Sun
PHOTO TAKEN 3 MONTHS PRIOR TO LINDSAY BUZIAK’S MURDER
Greg Martel in the green shirt on the far right.
Above we have a photo of Cohen Oatman & Greg Martel at Cohen’s wedding in 2005. Martel was Cohen’s best man, and yes, they were very close friends. Interesting, since Cohen Oatman was the guy that Jason Zailo took with him to the 1702 DeSousa Place the night Lindsay Buziak was murdered February 2/2008. Jason & Cohen worked as partners for a time in the mortgage business. All three of these guys worked at Terry Martin’s Mortgage Centre in Victoria in 2007.
During a 2021 INTERVIEW SOCIOPATH FRAUDSTER ponzie SCHEMER greg martel HAD this to say
When I was younger, everything for me was sports. I played football, golf and hockey. I never thought about entrepreneurship or business. Everyone had day jobs and just played or practiced at night. I wanted to become a part of the CSIS in Canada, which is like the CIA. I wanted to speak three languages. I was thinking of potentially applying for that. I went through that process, but then I figured out that I liked finance more.
One of the guys I used to golf with offered me a job and this invited me into the finance world. I still wasn’t an entrepreneur. I was the worker bee, the guy that comes in every day to work. It wasn’t until I was in Fiji for a mentorship retreat with Tony [Robbins] that I found my business calling.
It’s happiness, influencing someone else in a way that’s going to make them happy, help them reach their goal and create internal fulfillment. That’s the secret to happiness. It has nothing to do with your bank account or what kind of materialistic items you have in your driveway or house. It’s really a contribution or being influential to guide someone. When people are able to benefit, it gives me fulfillment and happiness.
Greg Martel’s Revolutionary carSHAiRing Technology – L.A. STYLE Magazine (lastylemagazine.com)
CHEK NEWS May 27/2024
Kori Sidaway
Price Waterhouse Cooper has now confirmed that Greg Martel was indeed operating a major Ponzi scheme. Investors were putting up their money for construction projects only to find these out these projects never existed. PwC has conducted a funds flow analyst & has concluded that investor funds loaded to MMAC for purposes of funding bridge loans, but instead were used for other purposes.
The purposes include repaying other investors, funding related companies & funding significant operating expenses. In a Ponzi scheme, an investor buys into a scheme offering higher than normal returns “the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says.” The scammer then pays early investors with money from new investors. Investors believe the investment is returning high profits, but the scheme will eventually collapse. Martel will not live for long – some powerful person he ripped off is sure to have him taken out with a bullet to the back of the head.
PWC found that Greg Martel had spent:
3.1 million on vehicles,
1.1 m for rent on multiple homes,
261K for restaurant meals & events,
200K on watches & jewelry,
$50K for wine & vineyard events.
Andrew A. Duffy
Mar 5, 2024 Times Colonist
Receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers says it’s tracking more than 50,000 transactions through 40-plus accounts at various financial institutions.
The receiver overseeing disgraced Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel’s bankruptcy expects it may soon be able to say definitively whether Martel’s investment business was actually a Ponzi scheme. PricewaterhouseCoopers has told investors and creditors who claim Martel owes them in excess of $300 million that it’s now in possession of “a flood of information” through RBC financial transactions.
The receiver is working through the information to provide a report to the courts and expects to be able to conclude whether Martel’s company My Mortgage Auction was a Ponzi scheme, the trustee wrote in an update to investors. The funds-flow analysis will track more than 50,000 transactions through 40-plus accounts at various financial institutions, representing more than $295 million invested in short-term-loan investments Martel had been offering through My Mortgage Auction.
The analysis is expected to show where all the money Martel took from investors went, and to determine if the bridge loans he claimed to have arranged ever existed and if there is money sitting in an account somewhere that could offset investors’ losses.
To date, the receiver has found no proof the loans ever existed.
Documents to reveal if Martel was running Ponzi scheme – Victoria Times Colonist
December 22/2023 CHEK NEWS
According to CHEK NEWS Greg Martel left Thailand and is now living in Dubai.
Greg Martel can move from country to country but it’s only a matter of time before someone catches up with him – and it may not be the law. It isn’t likely Martel will be able to live a quiet life in hiding. He is a narcissist/sociopath who thrives on attention, needs women around at all times, and loves to party. He’s a fraudster who thought nothing of taking money from his associates, referral clients, close friends, and hockey associates, then left his children to bear the burden of the crimes their father had committed in the community where they were born and raised.
There are a few legal issues people should understand before packing your bags, chiefly among them the UAE’s extradition policies. The UAE does not have a formal extradition treaty with the US, UK or EU, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely off the hook if accused of a crime back home. The UAE maintains the right to extradite individuals at its own discretion. The UAE may be an expat haven, but you’re still not above the law.
I believe these fraudsters days of living the dream will be short-lived.
VibrantVictoria – Investors to lose nearly $300 million as… | Facebook
Investors to lose nearly $300 million as mortgage broker’s bankruptcy leads to cold cash trail. A Victoria mortgage broker embroiled in a suspected financial scheme that lost investors $295 million remains missing, and it’s looking like monies owed to those who placed their money in his trust will never be repaid, according to the auditor PwC overseeing bankruptcy proceedings.
Greg Martel may have been operating a Ponzi scheme, according to investigators, and of the hundreds of millions of dollars investors put towards his investment advice, about $200,000 has been recovered, and that maybe it.
Martel is believed to have fled overseas.
UPDATE NOV 20/2023
THE PROVINCE NEWSPAPER: Author Gordon Hoekstra Nov 20, 2023
He’s accused of running a $300M Ponzi scheme. Now he’s vanished. Who — and where — is Greg Martel?
The B.C. mortgage broker denies it was a Ponzi scheme. Investors claim they are owed $312 million. A bankrupt Martel is now wanted on an arrest warrant and was last seen in Thailand.
UPDATE OCT 23/2023
Story by Andrew Duffy, Victoria Times Colonist
U.S. court honours Canadian rulings on fugitive Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel
With no one opposing the action, a California bankruptcy court has cancelled a court date for Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel and granted an order to recognize the Canadian bankruptcy proceedings and orders issued by the B.C. Supreme Court. A hearing in the U.S. had been scheduled for today.
The granting of the order allows the Canadian based trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers, to act in the U.S. as it has been in Canada. That means the B.C. Supreme Court orders have been given the full force and effect in the U.S. and will allow PricewaterhouseCoopers to operate Martel’s business, investigate its finances, seize Martel’s assets, interview witnesses, take evidence and intervene in any matters that involve Martel and his businesses.
U.S. court honours Canadian rulings on fugitive Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel (msn.com)
UPDATE OCTOER 2/2023
TIMES COLONIST
Andrew Duffy
If Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel returns to Canada or the U.S., there’s a good chance he will be detained and brought before the courts. Last week, a California bankruptcy court ordered the U.S. Marshall Service to recognize a bench warrant issued by the B.C. Supreme Court Sept. 11, and directed that the service. If Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel returns to Canada or the U.S., there’s a good chance he will be detained and brought before the courts. Last week, a California bankruptcy court ordered the U.S. Marshall Service to recognize a bench warrant issued by the B.C. Supreme Court Sept. 11, and directed that the service apprehend Martel.
The Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California made the ruling after hearing an application from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the receiver overseeing Martel’s bankruptcy. The receiver was asking the courts for emergency relief to recognize the Canadian proceedings and to put a hold on the disposal of any of Martel’s U.S. assets. The court agreed to restrain Martel and his companies from disposing of any assets. Last week, it also restricted a group of U.S.-based Martel creditors, led by Dan Castellini, from disposing of any assets received from Martel since May of this year. PricewaterhouseCoopers’ investigation (PwC) which has been extended until the end of February, has so far unearthed just over $300,000, while the costs accrued by the investigation are estimated at more than $1 million.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 11/2023
CHEK NEWS APRIL LAWRENCE
A B.C. Supreme Court judge on Monday found Greg Martel, owner of My Mortgage Auction Corp., guilty of contempt of civil court,
saying he has breached five court orders by not complying with the requests for information from receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) who has control of his companies and his personal assets. PwC took control of Martel’s company in May after several civil lawsuits were launched by investors alleging Martel owed them millions of dollars. Martel had allegedly promised impressive returns for ‘bridge loan’ investments that, to date, PwC’s lawyers say they have never found any evidence of.
Court records show 855 investors have filed claims against Martel through bankruptcy proceedings, with the total amount he owes all creditors now surpassing $300 million.
Monday’s hearing, which was originally scheduled for two days, got off to a surprise start when Martel’s lawyers asked the judge to have them withdrawn as his counsel, citing “ethical reasons.” The request was granted, and no further information was given. Martel’s original lawyer also withdrew, citing ethical reasons earlier in the proceedings.
In addition to the contempt of court application, PwC’s lawyer also asked the courts to borrow $600,000 from one of Martel’s investors so that it can pursue a property Martel owns in Las Vegas and try to recoup some of the equity from it. Making the issue more urgent is what PwC called a “disturbing development.” They told the judge that on Sept. 6 they learned that Martel, against court orders, had allegedly transferred ownership of the Las Vegas property to one of the U.S. investors he owes money to.
PwC says it doesn’t have enough money to pursue legal action in the United States because so far, it has incurred more than $1 million in fees yet has only recovered roughly $300,000 from Martel’s estate.
The judge granted the funding request. In the contempt application, Madame Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick found Martel guilty of breaching five different court orders. She signed a warrant for his arrest, which will be sent to the Canada-wide policing database CPIC. If Martel is out of the country, as is largely suspected, the warrant means he would only be arrested if and when he returns to Canada. The B.C. Securities Commission is also pursuing a criminal investigation into Martel’s dealing, but no charges have been laid. None of those allegations have been proven in court.
The B.C. Securities Commission has launched a criminal investigation into Greg Martel’s dealings. If they find enough incriminating evidence, they could charge him criminally. If that were to happen, the authorities would not have to wait until he enters Canada, they could extradite him from whatever country where he is hiding out.
The information is being gathered by the commission’s Criminal Investigations Branch, which investigates potential quasi-criminal offences under B.C.’s Securities Act and criminal offences under the Canadian Criminal Code. The investigation could lead to administrative proceedings before the commission.
Greg, please contact me. I want to know what you know about Lindsay Buziak’s murder.
UPDATE AUGUST 1/2023
The next court hearing will be on September 11 and 12, 2023. During the hearing, counsel for Mr. Martel will be speaking on two matters, those being to have the Receiver’s Third, Fourth and Fifth Reports sealed, and an adjudication of Mr. Martel’s application for a constitutional exemption. In the same hearing, the Receiver will bring its application to have Mr. Martel held in contempt.
UPDATE JULY 27/2023
Hearing at B.C Supreme Court Vancouver July 26/2023 10:00 am
THE CASE OF GREG MARTEL AND THE 226M HE OWES INVESTORS
MADAME HONOURABLE JUSTICE FITZPATRICK
denied an application for a publication ban – stating, “the investors who have lost money have a right to know about the efforts to find their funds.” The whereabouts of Greg Martel remains unknown, as does the location of the $226 million he owes to over a thousand investors. Lawyers for the Victoria mortgage broker argued information Martel revealed earlier could put him in criminal jeopardy in the United States.
UPDATE JULY 27/2023
Andrew A Duffy
Times Colonist News Victoria
Greg Martel investors who had been hoping a court date today might shed some light on where their money went and if there is any chance of recovering it are likely to be disappointed. The court date, where they are expecting an update from the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of the Victoria mortgage broker’s company My Mortgage Auction, will offer little new information about where $226 million in investments went. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ fifth report to the court on the My Mortgage Auction bankruptcy proceedings, released on the eve of the court date, Martel’s legal counsel intends to argue Martel should not provide further information to the receiver.
The report notes Martel’s lawyers, Helen Sevenoaks and David Wotherspoon, have written to the receiver on a number of occasions to say they are concerned the requirement for their client to provide information could be used in a proceeding in the U.S., putting him in jeopardy. They’ve said they will be applying for a constitutional exemption to relieve Martel from the obligation to produce further documents and information to the receiver. Martel’s counsel has also requested that the receiver not refer to any information provided by Martel in its reports and remove materials from its website.
While the receiver has complied by heavily redacting its fifth report, it also pointed out the “quantum of information provided by Greg Martel, which has not been obtained from other sources by the receiver, is minimal.” In a note to investors posted to its website, the receiver noted Martel’s counsel intends to ask the court to seal the redacted portions of the report and if that happens, portions of the report will remain confidential.
Cont below.
UPDATE: July 18/2023
ANDREW A DUFFY
TIMES COLONIST
Martel creditors await first meeting in bankruptcy proceeding
Those creditors who have already filed a proof of claiM WITH PwC will be eligible to vote at the meeting
About 1,200 investors who entrusted their savings to Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel will get a better sense of their chances of recovering money on July 26, when PricewaterhouseCoopers is set to run a first meeting of creditors. The meeting will provide creditors an update on the receivership and bankruptcy of Martel’s My Mortgage Auction Corp. Inspectors will be elected from among the creditors to advise the receiver on how to proceed, and creditors will vote on next steps in the proceedings.
Creditors who have already filed a proof of claim with PricewaterhouseCoopers will be eligible to vote at the meeting. The inspectors elected will represent the larger creditor group and will be made up of investors, former employees and trade creditors who all have claims against My Mortgage Auction. Their job will be to advise the trustee on next steps, including when to engage legal counsel or begin litigation. The trustee already has a list of about 1,200 investors who are out at least $226 million after entrusting their savings to Martel.
So far they have been told very little money has been found through the first few months of the receiver’s inquiries. The receiver’s most recent report makes it clear Martel has been evasive when it comes to answering direct questions about where the money was invested and has not co-operated fully with the receiver’s investigation. The receiver has been digging to find out what happened to the $226 million investors sank into Martel’s company My Mortgage Auction Corp. to fund short-term bridge loans for commercial and residential real estate deals.
The money was to be repaid with high interest. Many of the investors claim they have been waiting months for repayment. Bankruptcy proceedings allow the trustee to review payments My Mortgage has already made to some investors and claw that money back for the estate.
GREG MARTEL PONZI SCHEME /FRAUDSTER
One of the things that most of us find baffling about Ponzi schemers is how they wake up every morning with the weight of this crime bearing down on them. Well, you can’t be a criminal without the capacity to defend yourself against the reality of what you’re doing, and these guys always believe they will get away with it. Devious destructive characters who lack the empathy gene and are oblivious to the pain they inflict on others, scamming people out of their hard-earned money without giving it a second thought.
They have this magical ability to win people’s trust, always claiming the benefit of the doubt & explaining away any uncomfortable reality. They are con-artists, pure and simple, delusional sociopaths who believe the lies they tell. They live the high life until it finally catches up with them, and in the end they are doomed, and a prison sentence usually awaits them.
Everyone knows that Greg Martel was a shady broker who shafted a lot of people. Some of those people filed civil actions against him in BC Courts, but some just let it go and didn’t fight back. In time shady Greg packed up, moved to California and set up businesses there. He now keeps a residence in Newport Beach California and Victoria. Yes, he has climbed the ladder of success, but he did not do it without taking down friends and business associates in the process.
In 2017 Greg Martel’s shady business dealings were brought to the attention of the Victoria Police Department.
The financial crimes division promised to look into the matter, but with where things stand today it is clear the complaints filed against Martel in 2017 were never taken seriously by the VPD. Is this the reason the VicPD made a comment to Andrew Duffy of the Times Colonist saying it can’t comment on potential investigations unless there’s a clear public safety or investigative? Was Martel’s defrauding people out of their hard-earned money not considered an investigative necessity? Several of Martel’s investors were cops. Not only were they investors, but they were also Martel’s biggest promoters, and apparently, they were members of the Saanich & Oak Bay Police Department.
The Victoria Police Department said it can’t comment on potential investigations unless there’s a clear public safety or investigative need.
Victoria mortgage broker’s firm faces lawsuits – Victoria Times Colonist
UPDATE: JUNE 29/2023
TIMES COLONIST
Andrew A Duffy
BC Securities Commission confirms investigation into Martel – Victoria Times Colonist
B.C. Securities Commission confirms investigation into Greg Martel
The commission has confirmed it is gathering information from anyone who has been involved with Greg Martel’s companies Shop Your Own Mortgage and My Mortgage Auctions Corp.
The B.C. Securities Commission has confirmed it is in the midst of an investigation of Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel.
The commission, which had not previously commented on the case, has confirmed it is gathering information from anyone who has been involved with Martel’s companies Shop Your Own Mortgage and My Mortgage Auctions Corp. The commission has launched an online questionnaire that asks investors about their net worth, how they invested in Martel’s companies, how much they invested in the companies, if they ever received payment from Martel, if they ever had face-to-face contact with Martel or one of his representatives, and if they were ever offered a prospectus or offering memorandum before investing.
The information is being gathered by the commission’s Criminal Investigations Branch, which investigates potential quasi-criminal offences under B.C.’s Securities Act and criminal offences under the Canadian Criminal Code. The investigation could lead to administrative proceedings before the commission. The investigation will run alongside the investigative work of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the receiver overseeing the bankruptcy proceedings of My Mortgage Auction. The receiver continues to look for that company’s assets, Martel’s assets and the assets of several other related firms that Martel controlled. More than 1,200 investors, who are out more than $226 million after entrusting their savings to Martel, have already been told there’s been very little money found through the first two months of the receiver’s inquiries.
The receiver’s fourth report into Martel’s activities makes it clear Martel has been evasive when it comes to answering direct questions about where the money was invested and has not co-operated fully with the receiver’s investigation.
The receiver has been digging to find out what happened to about $226 million that investors sank into Martel’s company My Mortgage Auction Corp. to fund short-term bridge loans for commercial and residential real estate deals. The money was to be repaid with high interest. Many of the investors claim they have been waiting months for repayment. The receiver has set the first meeting of creditors of My Mortgage Auction for July 26 in Vancouver. While the receiver has found very little money or assets in the last month of investigation, it has determined Martel recently made preferential interest payments to some investors.
Bankruptcy proceedings allow the trustee to review payments My Mortgage has already made to some investors and claw that money back for the estate. The initial investigation suggests there will not be much money to be spread out among the creditors. The most recent statement of property shows the trustee now has control of just $292,586 between funds that are being held by the court and cash on hand already recovered.
Filed documents suggest My Mortgage has no real estate, no bills of exchange or promissory notes and no one owes it any money. The money the trustee does have is already spoken. PricewaterhouseCoopers is owed $300,000 for its services so far, while Royal Bank and My Mortgage employees, both considered secured creditors, are claiming $20,200 and $40,000 respectively. PricewaterhouseCoopers is continuing to investigate Martel’s financial dealings along with his companies Shop Your Own Corp., Martel Investments, 2289548 Alberta Ltd., Shair Your Car, Snail Team One, Snail Team Six, G&G Discount Merchandise and Martel Capital. It has moved to freeze bank accounts and assets Martel may have.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY MEMBERS OF THE SAANICH POLICE DEPARTMENT PROMOTED MORTGAGE BROKER GREG MARTEL TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHEN THERE WERE REGISTERED COMPLAINTS FILED AGAINST HIM AT THE VICTORIA POLICE DEPARTMENT & SAANICH IN 2015?
The fact is, Greg screwed over a lot of people and he has been getting away with it for years. Greg claims that he invested in small companies to raise capital, but ask yourself this; where did Greg get the money to invest? Best to ask the people that trusted him and lost everything. Over the years Greg’s schemes have funded his lifestyle, so for anyone thinking of investing in any of Greg Martel’s dream schemes – think again. It is not likely you will ever see your money again.
ECONOMICAL & FINANCIAL DAMAGE
Ponzi schemes inevitably inflict financial damage on most of their investors and divert savings from productive investment. If left unchecked, they can grow exponentially and cause broader economic and institutional damage as well, undermining confidence in financial institutions and regulatory authorities and creating fiscal costs if bailouts occur.
They can even lead to political and social instability when they collapse. Once a scheme becomes large, government authorities may become increasingly reluctant to trigger its collapse, because if they do—curtailing its ability to meet cash flow obligations—subscribers could blame the government’s intervention rather than the scheme’s inherent flaws. Conversely, when the schemes collapse by themselves, experience shows that governments may face criticism for failing to act more promptly.
UPDATE: JUNE 13/2023
Times Colonist
June 11, 2023 9:00 AM
The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of My Mortgage Auction, a company once controlled by Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel, had better book a large conference room for the first meeting of creditors. With debts in excess of $226 million and a list of creditors that will include more than 1,200 investors, My Mortgage Auction’s demise is likely to draw plenty of attention from those with a financial stake in it. Trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had My Mortgage assigned into bankruptcy last week, has set the first meeting of creditors for July 26 in Vancouver.
Creditors’ meeting set for Martel firm, debts in excess of $226 million – Vancouver Is Awesome
UPDATE: June 9, 2023
Andrew A Duffy
Times Colonist
List claims company borrowed $2.77 million, but they say they never had any dealings with Martel.
UPDATE: JUNE 9/2023
Hearing in Courtroom 43. B.C. Supreme Court Vancouver
BEFORE MADAME HONOURABLE JUSTICE FITZPATRICK
18 people in attendance. Others watching via live stream.
Greg Martel’s lawyer, Ritchie Clark stood before the Judge stating that he had terminated his relationship with Mr. Martel for ethical reasons – and Martel’s new lawyer, Helen Sevenoaks of Sevenoaks Law was present in the courtroom.
Peter Rubin, counsel for PricewaterhouseCoopers, had little new financial information for the more than 1,200 investors wondering what happened to about $226 million they entrusted to Martel. As he took the court through the receiver’s fourth report into Martel’s activities, Rubin noted Martel still remains evasive when it comes to answering direct questions about where the money was invested and has not co-operated fully with the receiver’s investigation. Rubin said the investigation has turned up very little in terms of assets or cash that could be used to pay back investors.
Please note that the Bridge Loan Borrower’s list starting on Page 52 of the Report cannot be relied on to be accurate. The list was created by Greg Martel and is said to have many fabrications.
PRICE WATERHOUSE STATEMENT
Today the Court granted an Order allowing the Receiver to serve an application for contempt on Mr. Martel substitutionally as well as granting the Receiver liberty to serve any other applications and/or documents on Mr. Martel substitutionally. This means that Mr. Martel can be served via his email addresses. The Order will be posted under the Court Order tab in due course. Earlier this week, on June 6, the Receiver assigned MMAC into bankruptcy.
Peter Rubin, the representative for Price Waterhouse stood before the Court and read the letter which was sent by Greg Martel to price waterhouse and forms part of the June 7/2023 report.
ON THU, JUNE 1, 2023 AT 9:07 PM
I don’t have access to any of those documents until I get super admin access for, Keeper, my SYO email, Carshair. We are under a massive breach of company data. Since we spoke last Dan has locked us out of Carshair Super Admin and now all payroll platforms. My hands are tied and I have no problem proving this isn’t the case in court Friday. This breach is a direct result of PWC’s lack of protection of the company’s secure information, by terminating all staff including the staff that protects our company from this exact situation from happening.
I’m willing to work with all of you, but you’re asking for the impossible from me. I can’t produce this information as you can’t either because Dan holds all access. I’ve escalated this to the police (which I’ve provided the police report l) who have escalated it to the FBI. When I have the direct FBI agent’s names I will forward that to you and the case number. I’ve also contacted another attorney to work with Richie to file charges to PWC and a formal complaint to the judge and this was handled from then very beginning. Please do not email any more requests unless it’s the super admin passwords for everything data breach he committed. If you can provide that I will have no issue providing your request with an appropriate timeline.
Clearly, this poorly written letter was composed by a totally unhinged person who has without a doubt lost his mind.
The letter shows a total lack of respect to the investors who trusted Martel with their hard-earned money. Not only that, but the disrespect Greg Martel showed to the Courts, the Judge, and the Canadian & US legal system is appalling. It is shocking to hear this man tell us all how he is coming after the government, the courts and the judge.
Just before noon, some of us left after listening to the contents of that letter. No need to stay and listen to what Greg Martel’s new lawyer, Helen Sevenoaks, would have to say. Without a doubt, there will be more delays, more hearings, and who knows when it will ever end. If there are ever criminal charges brought, there is a good chance Martel’s lawyer may try an insanity plea. After all, Greg has proven himself to be a high-functioning insane narcissistic sociopath and someone who will try anything to avoid prosecution.
AT THE END OF THE DAY:
MADAM HONOURABLE JUSTICE FITZPATRICK GRANTED GREG MARTEL MORE TIME IN ORDER TO CONFER WITH HIS NEW COUNSEL AND TO SUBMIT HIS DOCUMENTS TO THE RECEIVER. A new hearing date has yet to be set.
UPDATE: JUNE 1/2023
GREG MARTEL has had his licence to practice in B.C. suspended by the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). The regulatory agency says Gregory Martel, owner of Shop Your Own Mortgage (SYOM), can no longer conduct any mortgage broker activity in the province, effective immediately.
https://www.bcfsa.ca/media/3349/download
Victoria mortgage broker’s licence suspended while facing multiple lawsuits | CTV News
UPDATE: MAY 31/2023
The Victoria mortgage broker who owes investors $226 million has missed a B.C. Supreme Court ordered deadline to produce a sworn list of assets and key financial documents, according to his Vancouver lawyer. Ritchie Clark said Greg Martel, the man at the centre of the financial scandal, claims to be having trouble with passwords needed to access some of the information demanded of him by Friday, May 26.
The next court hearing is June 9.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/victoria-mortgage-broker-misses-deadline-1.6859020
UPDATE: MAY 17/2023
16 people in attendance in Courtroom 55 – BC Supreme Court Vancouver
BEFORE MADAME HONOURABLE JUSTICE FITZPATRICK
At least half of the people in attendance were journalists/reporters
204 people live-stream
Non-compliance by Mr. Greg Martel, he was ordered to produce paperwork but so far has refused to do so.
MADAM HONOURABLE JUTICE SHELLY FITZPATRICK STATED.
“Lack of co-operation, failure to produce paperwork, possible incarceration if he does not comply, subject to contempt, refusal to respond to emails and telephone calls.”
Mr. Martel claims his 200K Mercedes was stolen from his driveway one day last week. Mr. Martel says he reported the theft to the police.
It was discovered that on the same day of the hearing last week, May 9, Mr. Martel was in communication with his bank in an attempt to transfer funds from a JP Morgan Chase Bank account to a First National Bank account.
Honorable Madame Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick adjourned today’s morning session to 2:00 pm. She told Mr. Martel’s lawyer, Richie Clark, that he had until 2:00 pm to reach his client – that it was important that the courts speak to Mr. Martel. Apparently, Mr. Martel is in out of jurisdiction right now – in another time zone. (supposedly Thailand)
It is clear Mr. Martel has no intentions of co-operating with Price-Waterhouse or the courts. He is on the run, selling vehicles, and turning cash into crypto.
Greg Martel is a narcissist sociopath who belongs behind bars. Swindling good people out of their hard-earned money is a despicable crime.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, HONOURABLE MADAME JUSTICE SHELLEY FITZPATRICK GAVE MARTEL UNTIL NEXT FRIDAY, MAY 26, DEMANDING HE PRODUCE RECORDS AND AN ASSET LIST.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/greg-martel-investigation
UPDATE MAY 14/2023
Hello Greg, do you remember me? Do you remember the email I sent you 18 months ago? I asked you one simple question.
Who took the picture of you, Jason & Lindsay? You responded that same day saying that you couldn’t remember. Then you added this to your lengthy response.
“I’ve also donated over 31K to Operation Underground Railroad. OUR is on a mission to end sex trafficking for children all over the world. For every $1000 raise rescues a little girl or boy that has been kidnapped to be sold for sex. I’ve saved 31 children in the last six months.”
“So, to see the things you wrote about me, my business being under investigation with the police, me screwing over my clients was deeply hurtful and untrue.”
“I own a technology company and we scrapped your fake email address, your IP address, VPN screening server, your open API’s, your GO fenced location from your cell computer and we GO hunted all API data pulls and pushes from your location, and it all leads back to you. Defamation of character is a very serious offence. I can 100% prove all your slanderous comments are false in court.”
Then you left me your private number. 949-629-0033. I tried to call you a few times this week Greg, but I got your voice mail. Are you out of town Greg?
Greg, I will be in court on Wednesday, and I hope to see you there. Maybe you can tell the judge and all your investors about the 31 children you’ve saved. Maybe you can tell us about your technology company? More importantly Greg, maybe you can explain to all your investors where the hell the hard-earned money they trusted you with has gone.
UPDATE: MAY 9/2023
COURTROOM 55 10:00 AM VANCOUVER SUPREME COURT – JUSTICE SHELLEY FITZPATRICK PRESIDING.
50 investors packed the courtroom, and 342 investors live-streamed. Everyone wanting to know if they would ever see their money again. Tension & sadness filled the room. As expected, Greg Martel was a no-show, but his bungling idiot of a lawyer Richie Clark was present, and it was clear he didn’t have a clue what was going on. Supposedly he had been hired on the previous day.
We hear that Greg Martel owns a home at 2709 Goldstone Heights Victoria worth about 3M. He purchased a home at 28 Quiet Moon Lane Las Vegas for 4.7M, with a mortgage of 3.8M, and recently sold his San Diego property for 4M. All three properties mortgaged to the max with little equity left. In a six-month period Martel deposited and withdrew $58M from his Royal Bank account. Where did all that money go?
What I also learned today was that several of Greg Martel’s investors are cops. Not only are they investors, they are Martel’s biggest promoters. Who are these cops promoting Martel? Well, let me just say, they are members of the Saanich Police Department & Oak Bay. Greg’s illegal activities were reported to the VicPD back in 2016/17 – VicPD started a fraud investigation but nothing ever came of it.
Is this the reason the VicPD made a comment yesterday to Andrew Duffy of the Times Colonist saying it can’t comment on potential investigations unless there’s a clear public safety or investigative need? Was Greg Martel’s allegedly defrauding people out of their hard earned money not considered an investigative necessity?
AT THE END OF THE DAY:
GREG MARTEL WAS GRANTED A 1-WEEK ADJOURNMENT WITH RESTRICTIONS. COURT WILL RECONVENE MAY 17/18.
PERHAPS WE HAVE AN OZARK SITUATION GOING ON RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSE!
UPDATE: MAY 7/2023
BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SCAM ARTIST GREG MARTEL
On Thursday, a B.C. Supreme Court justice put Shop Your Own Mortgage into receivership, appointing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to take control of all of the company’s assets and property, effective immediately. Victoria mortgage company put in receivership amid flurry of lawsuits (cheknews.ca)
AN INJUNCTION HAS BEEN REGISTERED AGAINST GREG MARTEL’S 2709 GOLDSTONE HEIGHTS HOME IN VICTORIA.
The lawsuits being filed against Greg Martel are rapidly climbing. (See below) This guy is now on the run and has left a trail of investors high and dry. If only the Vic PD Financial Crimes Division had put more effort into their investigation against this guy years ago, things could have been so different. Financial crimes (Ponzi schemes) are damaging to human lives. Let’s hope that his narcissist’s fraudulent lifestyle comes to an end soon.
Scam Alert: Shop Your Own Mortgage. Greg Martel : r/Victoria BC (reddit.com)
Victoria mortgage broker’s firm under control of receiver as lawsuits pile up
Civil lawsuits claim that Gregory Martel and his company owe more than $27.5 million to clients who invested with him.
VICTORIA PONZI SCHEMER IAN THOW
In December 2007, the B.C. Securities Commission imposed a $6 million fine against Thow and banned him from the securities industry. The fine was later overturned and reduced to $250,000.
Justice officials in Vancouver worked quickly on extraditing Thow
a man who allegedly perpetrated what has been called “one of the most callous and audacious frauds” ever seen in B.C. The move comes after Ian Thow was arrested in Oregon on B.C fraud charges. The 48-year-old former investment adviser was picked up in Portland as he exited a Portland condominium to go jogging on Tuesday morning.
Acting Sergeant Sammy Wu, spoke for the R.C.M.P’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team, said U.S. Marshals made the arrest based on warrant information sent from B-C. Wu said, that same information will be used by American courts to consider an extradition request. Thow was to make an initial court appearance Wednesday in Federal District Court in Portland. Thow, who was last seen travelling over the Canada-U.S. border into Washington State, has yet to appear in a Canadian court to face the criminal charges. He was arrested on information provided by the RCMP and the Vancouver Integrated Market Enforcement Team, or IMET.
The team’s Acting Sgt. Sammy Wu said the same information used to charge Thow will be used to start extradition proceedings against him in the United States. Thow pleaded guilty to 20 counts of fraud after scamming millions from close friends and business associates in order to live a lavish lifestyle that included luxury cars, a yacht and a private jet.
THOW was found guilty and jailed in 2010 for defrauding 20 clients of about 8M dollars. He was sentenced to 8 years but released after only 2.5 years.
A man who stole millions from his friends and family with what the judge called a “rampant sense of entitlement” and “unabashed greed” has been given a nine-year-prison sentence. The total that the Crown felt it was able to prove at his trial, the Crown characterized Thow’s actions as classic Ponzi Scheme. He took money from clients for schemes that included investing in a Jamaican Bank and short-term loans for developers. He never made those investments. The RCMP Integrated Market Enforcement Team led a five-year investigation into Thow, a former Berkshire Investment Group vice-president, based on allegations he cheated clients and friends out of more than $32 million.
A notorious Victoria-area investment adviser who bilked dozens of victims out of more than $8 million was denied parole on Friday at a hearing at the federal Ferndale Institution in Mission. At the hearing convicted fraudster Ian Gregory Thow offered a long-awaited apology to his victims as he asked a pair of parole board members to let him out on day or full parole. But are after a lengthy grilling, the board decided Thow still remains an undue risk to the community. “You essentially robbed many of these highly vulnerable people of their quality of life,” Board member Ian Mackenzie told the 50-year-old. “Your sense of insight is very limited.” “We got the distinct impression that some of your answers perhaps were rehearsed. You seem to only become emotional when you’re talking about yourself or your legacy.”
A B.C. provincial court judge sentenced Thow to nine years in 2010 after he pleaded guilty to 20 counts of fraud. He ran a Ponzi scheme, promising friends, family and clients’ high returns on fake investments. Thow said nothing at his sentencing – a decision he said on Friday came on his lawyer’s advice. “If I had apologized, it would have been blown up as an insincere apology,” he told the board. “If I’d been one of my victims, I would have wanted to hear that.”
‘I felt somewhat responsible,’ — Ian Thow
Thow began the hearing by trying to explain his crimes. He painted himself as an honest money manager who felt bad for clients who lost money when the market crashed. “I felt somewhat responsible for that to happen,” he said. “I did feel a moral or personal responsibility for the carnage that happened because of the market.” But he also said he bought a plane, ostensibly as a business investment, but ultimately for his personal use. “It was greed,” he said. “I had everything I needed, but I looked at that airplane and I thought, ‘Boy, I could use one of those. “Spiritually lost, with his morals “out of whack,” Thow claimed he deluded himself into thinking he could actually repay money he was stealing to prop up his extravagant lifestyle.
Sincerity questioned
But Mackenzie questioned Thow’s sincerity, zeroing in on two elderly sisters he took for $400,000. “They were very vulnerable,” Mackenzie told Thow. “When you go to them and you basically get more money from them, what are you thinking?” “It’s unbelievable,” Thow answered. “I’ve seriously harmed them forever. They were my favourite ladies. They were beautiful people. And they had no right to be dealt with the way I dealt with them.” A compelling speaker who claims to have reconnected with his Christian beliefs, Thow has been on five unescorted leaves of absence from Ferndale minimum security institution and dozens of escorted absences to work and attend church.
WHAT THOW SAID
He said he’s been offered a $3,000 a month job doing online marketing for a Vancouver firm that sells wallets. But board member Ulf Ottho questioned his sincerity. “Your mouth, the way you express, it’s like a dangerous weapon,” Ottho said. Thow referred to a Biblical passage which refers to the mouth being a weapon that can give life or death. “I’ve seen that happen with me and my actions,” he said. I’ve seen firsthand how it’s destroyed the lives of people that were the closest to me.”
Thow claimed to have changed, crying as a spoke about his “legacy,” and the three of his four children who still speak to him. “If you Google me today, my legacy is deceit. I was a cunning deceiver,” Thow said. “What I want to do now is create a new legacy, somehow.” Thow can make another application for parole next year. He’s eligible for statutory release on Nov. 2, 2014. In March of 2010, the former Victoria area senior vice-president of Berkshire Investment Group was sentenced to nine years in jail for defrauding his victims of nearly 9 million dollars.
In December 2007, the B.C. Securities Commission imposed its largest-ever fine of $6 million against Thow and banned him from the securities industry after it ruled, he used clients’ money for luxury cars, a yacht and a personal business jet. Before his arrest Thow fled to the United States in 2005 but was arrested in Portland and extradited to Canada in March 2009. He pleaded guilty to 20 counts of fraud and was sentenced to nine years in prison in March 2010, but given a credit of two years for time served.During the sentencing Judge Jocelyn Palmer noted it was greed that led Thow to use two fictitious investment schemes to cheat his mostly elderly victims out of their life savings, causing some to lose their homes and marriages, just to support his own extravagant lifestyle.
B.C. SECURITIES COMMISSION WANTS EX-ADVISER IAN THOW TO PAY HIS FINE – VICTORIA TIMES COLONIST
MORTGAGE BROKER KEVIN STEELE
IF BROKER KEVIN STEELE GOT 6 YEARS FOR DEFRAUDING 10.3 MILLION – MARTEL SHOULD GET LIFE
B.C MORTGAGE BROKER SENTENCED TO 6 YEARS AFTER SWINDLING 10.3M.
CBC News · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 9:45 AM PDT | Last Updated: June 20, 2006
A Vancouver broker has been sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding $10.3 million from 229 investors, many of them from the same impoverished mining valley in the B.C. Interior.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/b-c-broker-sentenced-to-6-years-after-swindling-10-3m-1.590524
Disclaimer: All parties mentioned in this blog are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The opinions expressed are solely my own. This blog is created in the public interest with the sole aim of seeking justice for Lindsay and bringing the conspirators and her killer(s) to account.
EMAIL ADDRESS: murderondesousa@gmail.com