B.C. mortgage broker deposits and withdraws millions into bank account prior to receivership

VANCOUVER – The owner of a B.C. mortgage company is facing several lawsuits from investors, accusing him of not repaying them.

On Tuesday, an estimated 50 investors attended a hearing at the B.C. Supreme Court, and another 350 watched the proceedings online.

“There's been a lot of people who are very concerned about their investment,” said Chris Ramsey, a lawyer of one of the investors. “I've had calls from many investors who borrowed money against their houses to invest in this in this company. And obviously, this is a very serious issue.”

According to court documents, the total debt is allegedly over $25.7 million, and noted that the number is likely higher as it is only based on information from lawsuits, and there are several investors who have not yet launched legal action.

Greg Martel’s company, My Mortgage Auction Corporation, which oversees Shop Your Own Mortgage, was placed in receivership by the B.C. Supreme Court.

Price Waterhouse Coopers has now taken control of the company’s assets, undertakings and property. 

Tuesday afternoon, PwC published its first report into the matter.

It gained online access to Martel’s bank accounts and reviewed their transactions from the last six months, which was the only time period available through the online portal.

PwC discovered $58 million was deposited and withdrawn during the period.

In the last month, $3.5 million was deposited and $5 million was taken out. The report noted $3.5 million was transferred to Martel Investments Ltd and $500,000 was transferred to Shop Your Own Corp.

Martel currently has $273.98 in his account, according to the report.

He has yet to respond to PwC’s emails, but Ramsey is hopeful there will be more information available when the matter returns back to court.

“Mr. Martel is given the opportunity to come back to court Wednesday and Thursday to explain what's going on, and the judge today has effectively made an order that Mr. Martel and these companies disclose the assets,” Ramsey explained.

PwC noted it is having difficulties reaching staff responsible for general bookkeeping and the maintenance of loan receivable records for My Mortgage Auction Corp., and therefore understanding its assets and liabilities will be limited.

Martel is also facing an investigation by the B.C. Financial Services Authority to see if there has been any misconduct.