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RCMP say Marc St. Pierre is believed to have withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into his own bank accounts.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
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
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.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
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.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.