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Mounties charge man in $100M alleged Ponzi scheme

by Barbara McPherson | September 15, 2009 at 09:57 am

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RCMP have charged one man and are seeking another in a$100M alleged Ponzi scheme in Canada.

Authorities say a second suspect believed to be involved in the scheme -- identified as 66-year-old Gary Allen Sorenson -- is currently at large, possibly in Honduras.

Milowe Allen Brost, 55, was arrested Sunday after an investigation that lasted more than three years.

Both men are facing charges of fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.

This Alberta based scheme is alleged to have sucked up over $100 million from about 3 000 people. Money went to invest in offshore shell companies managed by Milowe Allen Brost who has now been charged. Brost has been the focus of the Alberta Securities Commission in the past when he was found to have been connected to a fraudulent scheme.
The second named person, Gary Allen Sorenson, is believed to be in Honduras, but Canada does not have an extradition treaty with that country.

Police say they are intested in speaking to anyone who may have been affected by the investment plan. The public is being asked to call 403-292-8827 with information.

Ponzi schemes are illegal pyramid sales plans that depend on a constant influx of new investors to pay out to the previous investors. Eventually the whole structure collapses as new victims become harder to find. It is good to remember the truism, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Beware of those offering "sure fire big returns on your investment."

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