RCMP arrest four people in connection with regional ‘gifting circle’ scheme

Mission RCMP arrested four people and executed four search warrants in connection with what they say is an illegal pyramid scheme operating in the Lower Mainland.

Mounties launched a criminal investigation following a Sept. 25, 2017 complaint to the Coquitlam RCMP alleging there were District of Mission employees, contractors and volunteers working within the RCMP detachment, running a large-scale “gifting circle.”

A gifting circle is a scheme that offers high financial rewards for “gifting” cash. Mission RCMP say new participants are asked to attend meetings and to recruit two people. Members are then asked to contribute a $5,000 gift to the person at the top of the pyramid.

Police say participants are advised to use false names and to keep the gifted money in cash, to avoid suspicion.

Mission RCMP, with assistance from the Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit (FSOC), executed four search warrants on Feb. 20 at four locations in the District of Mission. Four people were arrested but were later released. Charges have not yet been laid.

“There are virtually no winners in this type of pyramid scheme,” Mission RCMP Insp. Annette Fellner said. “People who are involved in this kind of fraud are imaginative. They sound convincing and say the right thing to make you believe it’s perfectly legal when it isn’t.”

Mounties are aware of more than 100 gifting circles, or clouds as they are also known, operating in the Lower Mainland. Investigators believe thousands of people may be involved or are being actively recruiting.

Police say those involved in the pyramid scheme communicate over Telegram, an encrypted smartphone messaging app.