Two Kelowna residents have been charged in a massive Ponzi scheme that allegedly targeted residents across B.C., Alberta, and as far away as Australia.
Wednesday afternoon, the Edmonton Police Service announced 56-year-old Curtis Gordon Quigly and 56-year-old Kathleen Treadgold are now facing 80 counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of laundering proceeds of crime, after the pair turned themselves in to the Edmonton Police Service earlier Wednesday.
Police allege the scheme was operated primarily out of Kelowna and Edmonton.
The EPS says the $7.8-million Ponzi scheme allegedly involved offering securities in the form of promissory notes to guarantee investors a set return on their investment, which was often presented as a real estate “flip.” The scheme was run through the company Group Venture Inc., and police believe it was run between October 2008 and December 2020.
“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,” says Det. Herczeg of the EPS.
“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.”
Police believe there may be other victims who've yet to come forward.
Treadgold is the former owner of Glow Juicery in Kelowna. According to a Facebook post, Glow Juicery closed in January 2020.
Quigley, is believed to have been a “managing partner” of Group Venture Inc.
According to a 2017 profile on Treadgold, Treadgold and Quigley were a couple at that time.
Police are asking anyone who believes they may have been victimized by this fraud to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online here.
