Calgary man charged in $164 million Ponzi scheme

September 1, 2026 - Calgary, Alberta
From: Federal Policing Northwest Region

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The RCMP Federal Policing Northwest Region’s Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) in Calgary arrested and charged a 49-year-old man with criminal offences relating to fraud and money laundering.

Between March 2020 and April 2024, the accused is alleged to have misappropriated more than $164 million in investor funds from over 1,000 victims via his company, Black Box Management Corp. (Black Box), in a large-scale Ponzi scheme. While representing himself as a one-man investment firm, the accused received funds from Black Box investors on the understanding that he would use the money for day trading. Investors would then receive weekly email updates from the accused about the performance and growth of their respective accounts.

Following a complex and thorough investigation, investigators determined the information presented in these email updates were plagiarized from various online sources. Investigators also found that, out of the $164 million inbound funds, the accused allegedly transferred more than $163 million to other external accounts – which included his own personal trading account and an investment in a company based in the United States. 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.

On July 31, 2026, Craig Michael Thompson (49), a resident of Calgary, was arrested and charged with:

• Fraud contrary to section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code (x2); and,
• Laundering proceeds of crime contrary to section 462.31(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Thompson is scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Calgary on Sep. 3, 2026.

IMET would like to acknowledge the support of the Alberta RCMP’s Chestermere and Cochrane detachments, the Alberta Securities Commission, the Forensic Accounting Management Group, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, the Southern Alberta Regional Victim Serving Society, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in this investigation.

If you believe you are a victim of fraud related directly to this investigation, please email FPNWRIMET2023-PFRNOEIPMF2023@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. 

Financial crimes can be reported to your local RCMP detachment and/or to your police of jurisdiction. If you wish to report an instance of a scam, fraud, or cybercrime, please report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through the online portal or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.
 

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