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by Mike Caswell

The Alberta Securities Commission has imposed $8.9-million in sanctions on Craig Michael Thompson, a Calgary man who ran a Ponzi scheme that raised $150-million from investors over a three-year period. The ASC said that Mr. Thompson portrayed himself as a successful day trader who "had not suffered a day of losses since 2014." In reality, investors lost most of their money as Mr. Thompson carried out a "particularly sinister form of fraud," the ASC found.

The penalties for Mr. Thompson are contained in a decision that the ASC released on Thursday, Aug. 28. In addition to the $8.9-million he must pay, the ASC has imposed a permanent trading ban on Mr. Thompson. He is also barred from engaging in investor relations and almost any other activity associated with the markets.

The penalties arise from a Ponzi scheme that Mr. Thompson ran from March, 2020, through December, 2023. According to the ASC, he raised $150-million from over 1,000 investors in the U.S. and Canada. Among other things, he told them that he would pool their money and use it for day trading.

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