An RCMP investigation into a St. Albert man allegedly responsible for a Ponzi scheme that cost investors 10 million dollars now faces 83 separate charges of fraud and theft.
Wade Robert Closson, 45, was already fined nearly $1 million by the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) late last year and has been banned from trading in securities in the province.
A news release police issued Wednesday morning says Closson was charged April 1, 2016, with 80 counts of fraud over $5,000 and three counts of theft over $5,000.
Closson operated Optam Holdings Inc. from 2008 to 2013, which offered second mortgages to investors. The police investigation began in 2013 after investors reported discrepancies related to Optam’s operations and its eventual bankruptcy.
He was scheduled to appear in provincial court in Edmonton yesterday, May 13.
The ASC decision, issued Dec. 29, 2015, says Closson raised about $10.8 million from as many as 125 investors between Jan. 1, 2009, and April 2, 2013. The commission found Closson lied to investors; instead of investing the money in mortgages, he used about $5.6 million of new investor money to pay returns to other investors, $3.9 million for other projects outside the scope of the investments’ purposes, and least $800,000 for his own personal use.
Almost all that money is still owed to investors.
For one investor who spoke with the Gazette and asked not to be identified, the ASC decision offered little consolation, as he suggested Closson continued to live his life as a “vibrant member of the community.”
“The frustrating part is none of it seems to affect his quality of life, no matter how much he’s fined,” the investor said.
As for recovering any of the money he invested – a quantity he described as significant enough he had to refinance his home – he is not optimistic.
“Even if I sued him behind the scenes or through small claims court, I’d never see my money anyway because he owes so many other people money.”
