Canadian police says they have uncovered an apparent boiler room in Toronto that has allegedly defrauded investors around the world of millions of dollars.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) GTA Financial Crime unit said Tuesday that it has charged two men for allegedly defrauding investors in an online foreign exchange trading scheme. It alleges that Alan Zer, 48, and Rony Spektor, 51, masterminded the scheme. The allegations have not been proven.
Police say that between January 1, 2008 and November 25, 2013, they operated a website that promised to facilitate active trading in the FX market. However, police report that their investigation has revealed that the firm, InvestTechFX Technologies Inc., did not honour the client trading orders. Instead, it says that the funds were simply transferred into personal accounts of the accused.
“Investors’ attempts to withdraw their funds were denied by InvestTechFX through allegedly false, misleading and deceitful justifications,” police say.
The RCMP says its investigators executed a search warrant at an office in Toronto on Nov. 28, “where the majority of the victims were enticed to transfer funds into their InvestTechFX accounts.” That search uncovered evidence consistent with “boiler room” activities, police say.
Three individuals found working in the offices were arrested and released on a ‘promise to appear’ at a Toronto court on January 9, 2014. Zek and Spektor remain at large. Warrants have been issued for their arrest, but police say their whereabouts are unknown.
“Today’s frauds continue to grow more complex through the use of technology, which highlights the continued need for awareness and due diligence”, stated superintendent Dave Bellamy, the officer in charge of the RCMP GTA Financial Crime units. “We remain committed to detecting, disrupting and dismantling these types of organizations in our efforts to maintain investor confidence and protect the integrity of our economy.”