Being a headliner on the TV sequence Hustlers Gamblers Crooks was by no means a purpose of Lana McKenzie’s.
Nonetheless, that is the place the Courtenay, B.C., mother discovered herself final yr, sharing a nightmare story of being conned out of lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} by infamous B.C. Ponzi schemer Greg Martel.
“It was necessary as a result of I need to deliver consciousness to what can occur,” McKenzie advised CBC Information. “You get to fly to L.A. and be in these manufacturing workplaces and [being on the show] was a enjoyable expertise. However I might have quite not had the loss.”
McKenzie says she misplaced $330,000 to Martel’s swindle. She agreed to look on the Discovery Channel sequence on the situation she would not have to talk his identify.
“He is an terrible individual and he doesn’t deserve any glory on this state of affairs,” she mentioned, changing into emotional. “It has been devastating for therefore many individuals — a loopy, terrible, severe fraud that is occurred right here.”
Between 2018 and 2023, Martel took in $301 million from buyers and paid out $210 million, in keeping with court-appointed receiver and chapter trustee PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). They are saying he blew the remaining $91 million on choices buying and selling losses, different failing enterprise ventures, and to pay for his extravagant lifestyle.
Whereabouts unknown
Martel disappeared in 2023 amid lawsuits introduced by offended buyers wanting their a refund.
He was in Thailand for a time, then Dubai, however his present whereabouts are unknown though social media rumours floor from time to time claiming he is been noticed in areas akin to Israel or Mexico.
Authorities in Canada and the U.S. have issued warrants for his arrest associated to contempt of court docket, however Martel has not been criminally charged. An investigation by the B.C. Securities Fee is ongoing.
Clawback time
Earlier this week, legal professionals and buyers lined as much as make submissions to B.C. Supreme Court docket Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick as chapter proceedings for Martel and his bogus firm, My Mortgage Public sale Corp., transfer into the clawback section.
A complete of 480 so-called “winner” buyers and 81 “most popular” buyers who profited from the scheme are being ordered to pay all positive aspects minus their authentic funding right into a chapter pool.
Monies recovered will first go to compensating the accountants and legal professionals engaged on the case, with remaining funds to be distributed between 1,229 buyers who misplaced cash, though they’re more likely to obtain pennies on the greenback of their authentic funding.
Based on court docket paperwork itemizing the 561 buyers going through clawbacks, two buyers owe greater than $2 million every, one other 14 are on the hook for over $1 million every. The smallest quantity on the record is $223.10.
A lot of these going through clawbacks say they dispute PwC’s calculations, together with Quadra Island resident Damian Richards, who’s cited as owing $22,375.52.
Richards says in keeping with his monetary data, he should not must pay greater than $1,000 or $2,000 into the chapter pool.
“PwC has gone by way of a complete lot of economic transactions and the accounting data of an organization that was appearing fraudulently proper from the start. So I do not know the way they’ll depend on these numbers,” he mentioned.
‘Anger, resentment, denial’
Richards’ historical past with Martel goes again to 2020 when he invested an inheritance on the recommendation of a monetary planner. He mentioned the planner did not expose on the time that her husband labored for Martel.
Making issues worse, he says, are the taxes he is paid on positive aspects that have been by no means realized, a state of affairs many buyers are grappling with because of the fraudulent tax slips Martel issued by way of the years.
“We misplaced our nest egg,” he mentioned. “I’ve paid tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in taxes on cash I by no means made.”
“It has been actually powerful to undergo a loss like that. It is all of the levels of grief — anger, resentment, denial — all the pieces.”
Chapter continuing are set to proceed subsequent month in B.C. Supreme Court docket in Vancouver.
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