CAA Calgary man, Craig Michael Thompson, has been charged with running a $164 million Ponzi scheme that affected over 1,000 victims between March 2020 and April 2024. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Thompson operated under the guise of a one-man investment firm, Black Box Management, and collected funds from investors under the pretense of using them for day trading. However, investigators found that most of the money, approximately $163 million, was transferred to external accounts, including Thompson's personal trading account and a U.S.-based company. The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) had previously sanctioned Thompson and his companies, Black Box Management Corp. and Invader Management Ltd., in 2025 for securities misconduct, including fraud. The ASC described the scheme as a classic Ponzi scheme disguised as a successful trading venture, where fabricated reports were sent to investors to conceal the true state of their investments.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual report on a financial crime investigation without apparent ideological framing. It includes quotes from official sources like the RCMP and the Alberta Securities Commission, providing balanced context about the nature of the scheme and its impact on victims. There is a
