Calgary financial advisor charged after allegedly embezzling nearly $5M
A Calgary man who worked as a senior financial advisor has been charged with fraud and theft after police say he misappropriated nearly $5 million from his clients.
RCMP say Marc St. Pierre is believed to have withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into his own bank accounts.
Officials say 16 victims were identified in the Red Deer area and the combined losses are nearly $5 million.
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
St. Pierre was charged on April 4 with fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.
Police say while the monetary loss is significant, the fact that the accused worked for a bank harms the integrity of Alberta's financial institutions.
"The investigation serves as an important reminder for all banking clients to regularly check their accounts for any suspicious activity and to report it to their bank’s fraud prevention team," said Sgt. John Lamming with the RCMP's provincial financial crime team.
St. Pierre is due in court in Red Deer on May 14.
According to documents from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), St. Pierre was permanently banned by the regulatory body following a hearing in 2022.
He was an employee at an ATB located in Red Deer. ATB terminated St. Pierre’s employment in 2021 as a result of an internal investigation, the documents show.
He has not been employed with an IIROC-regulated firm since.
As a result of the IIROC decision, St. Pierre was also fined $1 million, ordered to return the $4.8 million that was misappropriated, and covered $100,000 in costs for the IIROC’s investigation and prosecution.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Man throws flaming liquid on New York City subway, burns fellow rider
A man set a cup of liquid on fire and tossed it at fellow subway rider in New York City, setting the victim's shirt ablaze and injuring him.
At least 9 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least nine people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
As Canada warms, infectious disease risks spread north
Cases of Lyme disease have now increased more than 1,000 per cent in a decade as the warming climate pushes the boundaries of a range of pathogens and risk factors northward.
12 people injured after Qatar Airways plane hits turbulence on way to Dublin
Twelve people were injured when a Qatar Airways plane flying from Doha to Dublin on Sunday hit turbulence, airport authorities said.