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RCMP say Marc St. Pierre is believed to have withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into his own bank accounts.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.