On February 9, 2026, in a significant decision for Canadian insolvency law, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released its Reasons for Decision in the Bankruptcy of Douglas Grozelle (2026 ONSC 758).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Court granted a motion brought by Grant Thornton Limited, in its capacity as the Trustee in Bankruptcy of Douglas Grozelle, to claw back approximately $21.5 million in made-up “interest” payments from 120 “net winners.” The recovered funds will be used by the Trustee to compensate 116 victims who lost their principal investment in the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 2021 to 2023, Douglas Grozelle operated a fraudulent Ponzi scheme under the guise of a short-term real estate bridge loan business. The scheme involved a “churn” of $103 million in bank transactions, promising investors exorbitant annualized interest rates some as high as 18,250%, which were paid using funds from subsequent investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Findings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trustee\u2019s investigation identified 236 total investors. While 116 investors suffered a combined loss of $24.5 million, the 120 “net winners” received $49.9 million, representing their full principal plus an additional $21.5 million in profit. The court’s order ensures a fair sharing of assets by requiring these “winners” to return the fictitious profits to the bankrupt estate managed by Grant Thornton Limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miller Thomson represented Grant Thornton Limited (Trustee in Bankruptcy) with a team comprised of David Ward, Mryam Sarkis, and Armando Ranjbar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"template":"","class_list":["post-46525","deals-cases","type-deals-cases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n