A court appointed receiver says former Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel was operating a “massive Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors of almost $270 million.
Martel’s debts were laid bare in bankruptcy documents filed on May 21 by PricewaterhouseCoopers — the receiver appointed as trustee to oversee the insolvency proceedings for Martel’s company — alleging he owes 930 creditors a total of $317 million.
Meanwhile, Martel’s whereabouts are unknown, potentially somewhere overseas, according to the filing.
Investors had plowed money into a company run by Martel that was supposed to be providing bridge loans for mortgages. But the court filing called it a Ponzi scheme, saying that no actual bridge loans were ever made and when investors needed to be paid out, Martel’s company just used money from new investors.
The filing was made to oppose the discharge of Martel’s bankruptcy proceedings, something he could have been eligible for after the end of a nine-month period, which is May 31.
His lack of cooperation in the process, along with the activity that allegedly led to the bankruptcy, are given as reasons for keeping the process active.
The document also says those investors are unlikely to get anything back from Martel or the the company that he owned, My Mortgage Auction Corp. (MMAC), also known as Shop Your Own Mortgage.
“The trustee does not expect that the investors will receive any recovery from the bankruptcy estates of Martel or MMAC,” the document states.
Warrants have been issued for Martel’s arrest in the U.S. and Canada. The document says that he was residing in Thailand until Aug. 31, 2023, when he was deported to Dubai, UAE.
The document goes on to say he has not cooperated at any time since the start of the receivership and bankruptcy proceedings.
”He did not turn over his books and records of MMAC, disclose the nature and extent of MMAC’s assets, or answer questions put to him even though court orders were made directing him to do so,” the document reads.
PricewaterhouseCoopers also alleges that not only was the company operating as a Ponzi scheme, Martel helped bring on bankruptcy by living in “unjustifiable extravagance.”
This includes spending by him and the company between 2018 and 2023 of $3.1 million for travel such as private plane charters, $3.1 million for vehicles, $1.1 million for rent at multiple homes, and $261,000 for meals.
The situation is also the subject of an investigation by the Victoria Police Department and the BC Securities Commission.
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