A B.C. Supreme Court justice has ruled that profits earned through a Ponzi scheme must be repaid to help compensate investors who lost money.
On July 3, Justice Fitzpatrick approved that the trustee of the scammer’s estate switch course to enact a procedure to retrieve the “unjust enrichment and money” gained by those who profited from the scheme.
The case surrounds Okanagan resident Curtis Quigley, who was charged along with his partner, Kathleen Treadgold, by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) with fraud and laundering proceeds in 2023.
Following the charges and awaiting court appearance in 2025, Quigley was found dead on June 20, 2024, after drowning in the Okanagan River.
After the drowning, the charges against Quigley and Treadgold were stayed.
In the decision, Fitzpatrick wrote that Quigley ran an “investment scheme” from 2008 to 2020, soliciting money from people by presenting them with fake investment opportunities often involving real estate.
These investment opportunities did not exist in reality, Fitzpatrick wrote, and Quigley instead used the funds he received to “repay, in whole or part, amounts owing to prior ‘investors’ or to pay Mr. Quigley’s living expenses.”
The scheme was Quigley and his partner’s sole source of income, according to the Justice.
Eventually, the scheme failed when Quigley could not generate enough new investments to cover the demands of the former investors.
Over the course of the 12-year-long ruse, 84 investors lost a total of more than $8.3 million.
Fitzpatrick later declared Quigley bankrupt and appointed Campbell Saunders Ltd. as trustee of his estate.
The trustee has since attempted to recover some of the money from the scheme for the “net losers” who lost money.
The trustee tried to recover Quigley’s assets, but “recovery of assets has been minimal” as there was no money left in any of the various bank accounts at the time of the bankruptcy. Still, the Trustee recovered $528,000 from Quigley’s boat, motorcycle and Quigley’s half interest in his Kelowna home.
Fitzpatrick wrote that in December 2022, “the trustee had identified that the only chance of providing some recovery to the ‘net losers’ of the scheme was to recover the excess funds/net winnings.
As of now, settlements have been reached with 28 of the 40 “net winners” for proceedings totalling over $1.4 million.
The trustee has filed a Notice of Civil Claim against the remaining 12 “net winners” for the recovery of around $2.5 million.
Among the alleged “net winners” is Treadgold, from whom the trustee is seeking nearly $780,000. The notice of civil claim filed against her also seeks damages for her alleged role in the scheme.
In August 2025, the trustee asked the court to pursue a different approach to recovering the money. Under the proposed two-stage process, the court would first determine whether to void the excess funds received by the alleged “net winners.” It would then decide how much each would have to repay to the estate.
Some of the remaining “net winners” argued against the trustee changing course, contending it would result in a loss of procedural rights and disagreements over amounts claimed, among other arguments.
Ultimately, Justice Fitzpatrick addressed the arguments by the “net winners” and granted the order sought by the Trustee.
“I find that the trustee’s overall approach is sound, both procedurally and substantively, despite a different and earlier approach toward seeking recovery of the excess funds. The relief sought is appropriate, both on legal and equitable grounds,” Fitzpatrick wrote.
“I find that the trustee’s approach properly and fairly balances the interests of the persons involved in the scheme, whether net winners or net losers, in this very difficult situation and that this approach will allow for a just and fair outcome to all of them.”