City man facing fraud, money laundering charges

By Lethbridge Herald on November 5, 2024.

The Alberta Securities Commission and the Alberta RCMP Federal Policing Integrated Market Enforcement Team said on Monday that Thomas Norman David Fiddler of Lethbridge has been charged with five offences under the Criminal Code following an investigation by the Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT).

Fiddler has been criminally charged with four counts of fraud over $5,000 contrary to section 380(1)(a) and one count of laundering the proceeds of crime contrary to section 462.31(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Through his company Re-O-Demo, it is alleged that Fiddler raised over $3.5 million from four investors for the purpose of investing in processing, cleaning and selling coal, but instead redirected a large portion of the investors’ funds to Fiddler’s other businesses and for personal use.

Fiddler’s first appearance in court is scheduled for Nov. 28 in Calgary Provincial Court at Calgary Court Centre, 601 5 Street SW.

In a press release, JSOT gratefully acknowledged the assistance of the Medicine Hat Police Service, the Regina Police Service, the Lethbridge Police Service, the RCMP, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

JSOT is an enforcement partnership between the ASC and IMET. JSOT investigates and prosecutes quasi-criminal cases under the Securities Act (Alberta) and certain securities-related criminal offences under the Criminal Code.

In particular, JSOT targets repeat offenders, serious frauds and breaches of ASC or court orders and bans. The primary objective is to protect investors and further enhance confidence in the Alberta capital market through collaborative investigations and prosecutions of serious violations of the law using the provisions of the Securities Act (Alberta) or the Criminal Code.

The ASC is the regulatory agency responsible for administering the province’s securities laws. It is entrusted with fostering a fair and efficient capital market in Alberta and with protecting investors. As a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the ASC works to improve, coordinate and harmonize the regulation of Canada’s capital markets.

The IMET is a specialized unit under the RCMP Federal Policing program that detects, investigates, and deters market fraud. The IMET unit works closely with the ASC to protect investors and further enhance confidence in Canada’s capital markets.