Investigation of a Ponzi Scheme

In 2012 we were retained by a Court Appointed Inspector, who later became the Receiver and Trustee involved in the matter, to assist with the investigation of a scheme that stole almost approximately $4 million from investors in a real-estate investment fraud in Ottawa.

The mandate of the Court Appointed Inspector, who was appointed under provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Ontario Business Corporations Act was initially to determine what happened with the investor’s funds and to determine if the real-estate projects their money was supposed to be used for were viable. Ultimately the Inspector determined that the money had been largely removed to the United States and the projects had very little likelihood of moving forward.

Our role was to assist the Inspector in conducting their fact finding activities, including review of documents and records, e-discovery & email reviews, preparation for and conducting examination of witnesses, funds tracing and reporting. The case was highly complex and we used traditional investigative techniques, combined with analytical and e-discovery tools to tie different pieces of information together. Once the Inspector’s mandate was concluded they were appointed as Receiver and Trustee and we continued to support them in tracing the funds to their ultimate disposition.

For more information about our investigative services, check out our brochure or contact us today.