Greg Martel, a Victoria man who ran a Ponzi scheme, has been arrested in the country of Georgia, multiple sources tell CHEK News.<\/p>\n
After multiple sources said Martel had been arrested, CHEK asked the Canadian Embassy for Georgia, based in Turkey, to confirm Martel\u2019s arrest, and Global Affairs Canada has now responded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlobal Affairs Canada is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Georgia,\u201d Global Affairs Canada said in a statement. \u201cConsular officials are providing consular assistance and are in contact with local authorities. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nanaimo realtor and Martel investor Rick Horsland was the first to speak publicly in May 2023<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s been watching behind his back for a long time, and this is good news,\u201d Horsland said. \u201cGood news for the investors who have lost a ton of money. It\u2019s caused a lot of chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n That chaos largely began in May 2023 when Martel\u2019s 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 \u201ceveryone will be getting paid back.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Warrants have been issued for Martel\u2019s arrest in Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n Horsland says three years later, the fallout continues.<\/p>\n \u201cI know there\u2019s one person where they\u2019ve had to go back to work because their income was reported on their tax return and it leveled out their pension,\u201d Horsland said. \u201cSo now they\u2019ve got to go back to work. They were relying on a pension, they made too much money now according to CRA and it\u2019s destroyed their whole retirement plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Global Affairs Canada wouldn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n