HOW DID IT UNFOLD?Pleterski boasted six per cent earnings per week and offered investors a 70-30 per cent split on capital gainsExcited about the prospect of making quick profits, Rumble decided to create Banknote with two other directors in 2021 to operate as a “feeder fund” for Pleterski, sending him nearly $4 million, while engaging in his own trading with investor’s money, according to the court documents.
“My first week I texted Ryan, I said, ‘Hey man, I think you made an error on the website,’” Tedford recalled after making a nearly 10 per cent return on his personal investment in just a week. But Rumble said the returns were real.Tedford said his rose-coloured glasses started to fade after Rumble pitched the idea of opening an investment bank in Dubai, claiming Banknote was currently managing millions for celebrities.
“I wanted to turn this in, but at that point I couldn’t just say, ‘Hey this was happening,’ so I pretty much had to go in and sit with this guy everyday for months,” he said.Around the same time Tedford’s suspicions began to arise, in early 2022, Banknote stopped accepting new investments due to “cash flow problems.” According to court documents, the problems stemmed from a failure on Pleterski’s part to return funds.Ryan Rumble stands beside a blue Lamborghini.
An OSC spokesperson told CTV News Toronto they were unable to confirm or comment on the existence, status or nature of Tedford’s complaint in order to “protect the integrity” of the commission’s investigations and “ensure the complaint process is not used to affect the market.”