A former Victoria investment adviser has been arrested in Oregon for 25 counts of financial fraud after a four-year investigation that involved police forces on both sides of the border.
Ian Gregory Thow, 47, was arrested on Tuesday by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and appeared in court in Portland Wednesday for allegedly cheating investors here out of $10 million.
He was caught while leaving his condo to go for a jog.
RCMP Sgt. Sammy Wu with the Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) said authorities began investigating Thow in 2005 after receiving a complaint from Berkshire Investment Group.
“Thow was a registered representative and licensed mutual fund dealer who managed the Berkshire office in Victoria,” Wu said.
In 2007, Thow was banned from the securities industry and fined $6 million after the B.C. Securities Commission ruled he offered non-existent securities to clients and used their money to support a lavish lifestyle, CBC News Online reports.
He disappeared and in 2008, after an investigation conducted by IMET, the Victoria Police Department and the FBI, a warrant was issued for his arrest in Canada and the United States.
Thow could face as many as 14 years in prison per count if he’s convicted.
