Calgary man charged with money laundering, defrauding Albertans

The task force responsible for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes has charged a Calgary man for taking nearly $500,000 from dozens of investors.

On Wednesday, the Joint Serious Offences Team — made up of members from the Alberta Securities Commission and the Alberta RCMP — said David Del Bianco of Calgary has been charged with money laundering and fraud.

The team said Del Bianco fraudulently collected around $500,000 from more than 40 investors between May of 2010 and December of 2014.

Sgt. Doug Johnston with the RCMP couldn’t comment on how Del Bianco was orchestrating the alleged fraud, but did say individuals were targeted “from various locations” across the province.

“So in this case, it was related to an investment fraud ... and the money just wasn’t used in accordance with what investors were told,” he said.

The recent charges aren’t Del Bianco’s first encounter with the commission, the regulatory body responsible for enforcing the province’s securities laws.

In 2007, Del Bianco was issued a cease trade order after allegedly selling securities of the company Equal Rights Legal Defence Alliance Inc. to residents in the Sylvan Lake area.

In its decision, the commission said Del Bianco’s activity in the Alberta capital market “poses a current threat to the investing public and the integrity of our capital markets as a whole.”

“Neither Del Bianco nor Equal Rights are registered to trade in securities,” the commission said in a 2007 release.

And back in 2003, Del Bianco was barred from trading and using exemptions under Alberta securities laws until July of last year. He was also prohibited from acting as a director or officer of any securities issuer.

Johnston said potential investors should always do their research on any company or individual before releasing any funds for a business opportunity, adding “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

“If you’re not sure, if something feels different or feels wrong, take a step back, take a breath and give yourself some pause before you throw your money in,” he said. “Look before you leap, so to speak.”

Del Bianco has a court date set in Calgary on May 16.