Greg Martel, a Victoria man who ran a Ponzi scheme, has been arrested in the country of Georgia, multiple sources tell CHEK News.
After multiple sources said Martel had been arrested, CHEK asked the Canadian Embassy for Georgia, based in Turkey, to confirm Martel’s arrest, and Global Affairs Canada has now responded.
“Global Affairs Canada is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Georgia,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement. “Consular officials are providing consular assistance and are in contact with local authorities. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”
Nanaimo realtor and Martel investor Rick Horsland was the first to speak publicly in May 2023 about his suspicions Martel was running a Ponzi scheme, peddling fake bridge loans and promising sky-high returns. Today, he welcomed news of an arrest.
“I’m sure he’s been watching behind his back for a long time, and this is good news,” Horsland said. “Good news for the investors who have lost a ton of money. It’s caused a lot of chaos.”
That chaos largely began in May 2023 when Martel’s company, Shop Your Own Mortgage (SYOM), was put in receivership. Even then Martel promised he was good for the money. In a phone call to CHEK News at the time saying “everyone will be getting paid back.”
But not long after, Martel fled. According to a report from receiver PwC, he was later tracked to Thailand and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After painstakingly scouring all of his finances, PwC determined Martel was in fact running a Ponzi scheme, with more than 1,200 investors losing a total of $149 million.
Warrants have been issued for Martel’s arrest in Canada and the United States.
Horsland says three years later, the fallout continues.
“I know there’s one person where they’ve had to go back to work because their income was reported on their tax return and it leveled out their pension,” Horsland said. “So now they’ve got to go back to work. They were relying on a pension, they made too much money now according to CRA and it’s destroyed their whole retirement plan.”
Global Affairs Canada wouldn’t provide any further details about the arrest citing privacy reasons, so questions remain including why and when Martel was arrested in Georgia and if he remains in custody.
There are still no criminal charges against Martel in Canada. When CHEK News requested an update on the investigation from the B.C. Securities Commission it simply pointed to previous statements that said its Criminal Investigations Branch continues to gather information.