B.C. Ponzi Schemer Greg Martel Arrested in Georgia

Liam O'Connell

6/8/20262 min read

Greg Martel, the Victoria, B.C., mortgage broker behind a massive Ponzi scheme involving more than $300 million from investors, has been arrested in the South Caucasus nation of Georgia.

Peazzi has confirmed Martel’s arrest, though the exact date and circumstances surrounding it remain unknown.

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of the arrest of a Canadian citizen in Georgia and that consular officials are providing assistance while remaining in contact with local authorities. The department said it could not release further details due to privacy considerations.

Scheme Drew in More Than 1,700 Investors

Martel operated Shop Your Own Mortgage, a company that was forced into receivership in 2023 after the investment scheme collapsed.

According to investigators with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the trustee overseeing Martel’s receivership and bankruptcy, the Ponzi scheme brought in an estimated $301 million from about 1,700 investors.

The scheme involved selling investments in fabricated real estate bridge loans. Investors were promised unusually high returns, in some cases as high as 100 per cent on an annualized basis.

As with many Ponzi schemes, earlier investors were paid using money from newer investors.

Collapse Began in Late 2022

The first major warning signs appeared in late 2022, when some investors stopped receiving the payouts they were owed.

By spring 2023, the scheme had collapsed, and lawsuits against Martel began to pile up.

PwC investigators estimate that while the scheme took in $301 million, about $210 million was paid back out to investors. The remaining $91 million, investigators say, was lost through options trading, other failing business ventures and spending connected to Martel’s lifestyle.

Tracked to Thailand and Dubai

Martel disappeared after Shop Your Own Mortgage entered receivership.

Investigators later tracked him to Thailand and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as they worked to locate him and piece together the financial collapse.

Martel has not been criminally charged in Canada.

However, he was found in contempt of court for failing to co-operate with receivership proceedings, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He is also the subject of a detention order in the United States.

Canada does not have a formal bilateral extradition treaty with Georgia, but both countries are signatories to international agreements that may allow extradition in certain circumstances.

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