Two charged in multi-million dollar Kelowna real estate Ponzi scheme
Two people are facing facing dozens of fraud charges from an alleged Kelowna and Edmonton-based real estate Ponzi scheme.
Edmonton Police Service said they were tipped about the $7.8 million fraud in early 2020, but the scheme was believed to have been ongoing for 12 years, according to a news release.
Curtis Gordon Quigley and Kathleen Treadgold, who are both 56, turned themselves in to Edmonton police today, Aug. 30. They're facing a combined 80 counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of money laundering.
"The two suspects were allegedly offering securities in the form of promissory notes to guarantee investors a set return on their investment," the news release reads.
Investments that turned out to be part of an alleged Ponzi scheme were pitched as a real estate "flip." Quigley and Treadgold operated their fraud under the company Group Venture Inc. from October 2008 to December 2020, according to the news release.
Although police say there were victims from as far away as Nevada and Australia, defrauding them from a combined $7.8 million, police believe there may be more victims who haven't come forward yet.
“Ponzi schemes work on the premise of providing initial financial gain, so most victims believe the investment to be profitable and then invest additional principle,” Det. Linda Herczeg of Edmonton Police Service's financial crimes section said in the release.
“In most Ponzi schemes, some initial investors will receive a full return on their investments, and the fraudster then uses those individuals as references to convince the more skeptical investors to buy in.”
To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
