A former B.C. resident now based in Calgary has been accused of defrauding investors of approximately $4.6 million. The B.C. Securities Commission alleges that Connor Sinclair Gardiner-Ingram raised the funds by falsely promising they would be used to invest in “cryptocurrency trading bots,” when in fact the money was used for other purposes, including travel and purchases of luxury goods. The allegations against Gardiner-Ingram have not been proven. According to the notice of hearing issued Wednesday, Gardiner-Ingram allegedly offered an investment opportunity that involved bots that purportedly made money by buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Investors were told they could invest in bots that would trade for a fixed time period—such as six months or a year—and would receive profits at the end of that period, the BCSC alleges. “(Gardiner-Ingram) used the name ‘Alpha Alliance’ as a company associated with the bots and indicated it was registered in Ontario, British Columbia or Canada,” the notice reads. “However, there was no such registered corporate entity in those jurisdictions.” Gardiner-Ingram allegedly worked with an Australia-based woman—identified in the notice only as “R”—to recruit investors, raising $3.6 million himself from 43 investors, along with $1 million from investors identified by R, between Oct. 7, 2021, and Feb. 28, 2024. Gardiner-Ingram was a resident of Comox, B.C., at the time of the alleged fraud, according to the BCSC. The funds were provided to Gardiner-Ingram in a mix of cryptocurrency, “fiat” currency and “in-kind deposits,” all of which allegedly went into his personal accounts and those of a B.C. company he controlled called “Dripsidecustoms Ltd.” “(Gardiner-Ingram) did not use investors’ funds for bots,” the notice reads. “He used the funds for non-investor payments including transfers to his family, retail purchases including luxury goods and jewelry, vehicles and vehicle-related expenses, travel, cash withdrawals, and other expenditures.” He also allegedly told investors—directly and through R—about gains their bots had supposedly made and “that he was selling or had sold Alpha Alliance for millions of dollars,” which would result in payments to investors. Other allegedly false communications to investors included claiming that money could not be paid out because the BCSC had frozen his accounts. In addition to his alleged fraud, Gardiner-Ingram is accused of making “false or misleading statements” to BCSC investigators while under oath. The statements were made during three interviews with investigators, which happened on Jan. 30, Sept. 20, and Dec. 11, 2024, according to the BCSC. Gardiner-Ingram or his legal counsel must appear at the BCSC’s offices in downtown Vancouver on Sept. 15 if they wish to respond to the allegations before a hearing is scheduled on the matter.
