Calgary police charge four in multi-million dollar money laundering operation

After a three-year long investigation, Calgary police say charges have been laid against four people in a multi-million-dollar money laundering operation.

Investigators say between 2015 and 2023 the owner and operators of Pareto Pharmaceuticals, an anabolic steroid business, sold millions, and then laundered the money through cryptocurrency and real estate investments.

Money laundering investigations are complex and require time to establish and prove a predicate offence that the laundered money came from, police say.

Making and selling anabolic steroids is illegal under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and the other body building products being sold by Pareto Pharmaceuticals are also restricted by the Food and Drugs Act.

Investigators say the products were being sold online through paretopharmaceuticals.com and paretopharma.com, as well as online through sales representatives and in gyms.

Police analyzed more than 150 bank accounts connected to the business, where they found money was being laundered through the use of multiple bank accounts and securities investments belonging to the suspects and their shell compaies.

Money made by Pareto was also converted into various cryptocurrency, according to investigators, which was then used for buying and selling real etate.

This process allowed for the reintegration of the funds into the banking system as “clean money,” police explain.

During the investigation, police found a lab where pills and injectables were being made illegally.

Raw anabolic steroids, and other supplies were internationally shipped to Calgary using fake names and picked up by the suspects using fake identity documents.

These supplies were then taken to the lab and made in Pareto Pharmaceuticals products, packaged, and distributed across Canada.

Investigators searched various locations in Calgary and Chestermere last week, including four vehicles, and one location in Vancouver.

There, police seized a variety of drug-related products with a combined street value of $7 million.

According to investigators, this includes 82.3 kilograms of raw anabolic steroid powder with an approximate street value of $4,000,000, 3,174 vials of ready-to-sell anabolic steroid with an approximate street value of $317,000, 233,388 individual anabolic steroid pills, packaged and ready-to-sell, with an approximate street value of $350,000, 355,643 individual Food and Drugs Act regulated pills, packaged and ready-to-sell, with an approximate street value of $533,000, 29 kilograms of raw powder of Food and Drugs Act regulated substances, with an approximate street value of $1,740,000, 289 kilograms and 70 litres of other raw powders and liquids used in the production of Pareto Pharmaceuticals products, and various drug manufacturing paraphernalia.

Police say other items that were seized which are believed to be the proceeds of crime include $589,585 in Canadian currency and approximately $500,000 worth of jewelry.

George Elias Haddad, 33, and Spencer Jonathon Rivers, 29, both of Calgary, and Fraser Landeen, 33, of Vancouver are all charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, laundering the proceeds of crime, trafficking of a controlled substance, possession of proceeds of crime, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and production of a controlled substance.

Angela Li, 28, of Calgary is charged with trafficking of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime and production of a controlled substance.

All four people are set to appear in court on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.