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Victoria mortgage broker Gregory Martel was deemed to have been running a massive Ponzi scheme, where funds received from investors were used to pay other investors, while some of the money was used to fuel Martel’s lifestyle.

The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Victoria mortgage broker Greg Martel plans to reach out to investors in the next month to arrange the return of $71 million in fraudulent payments made from Martel’s massive Ponzi scheme.

Madame Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick last week signed off on a court order that allows PricewaterhouseCoopers to go after the money the trustee claims was fraudulently paid out to 561 investors.

The 561 investors are among the more than 1,700 caught up in a $300-million Ponzi scheme run by Martel.

Over the next month, the trustee will provide each investor affected by the ruling with a calculation of what’s known as the “clawback” funds they owe. Each will have 30 days to dispute the calculation.

Those investors who do not dispute the calculation will be deemed to have received excess funds or preferential payments, and will have 45 days to pay what’s owed the estate. That 45-day period may be extended by agreement with the trustee.

The court had earlier dismissed an application from a group of investors to adjourn proceedings against them.

The group seeking the adjournment had claimed among other things that they had not had enough time to investigate the claims of the trustee.

This year, Pricewater­houseCoopers sought a court order to have the more than $71 million paid back so it could be more equitably redistributed to the broader investor group of more than 1,700 people.

The trustee claims the money was either excess funds or preferential payments, the result of Martel and My Mortgage Auction Corp.’s fraudulent activities.

The trustee’s funds-flow analysis of Martel’s activities determined where more than $300 million in investor money went after it was entrusted with Martel and My Mortgage Auction — the vehicle through which Martel took investor money with the promise that funds would be used to provide short-term loans for real estate transactions and construction.

The analysis, which took the better part of a year and analyzed 65,000 banking transactions involving 33 banks and credit instruments, concluded no bridge loans ever existed.

Martel was, in fact, running a massive Ponzi scheme: Funds received from investors were used to pay other investors, while some of the money was used to fuel Martel’s lifestyle.

The funds-flow analysis showed 1,709 investors put $301 million into My Mortgage Auction Corp. and $210 million was returned to investors.

It found 480 investors received $68.25 million more than they invested, while 1,229 lost $149 million.

The trustee identified another 81 investors who received payments totalling $3.12 million from Martel between March and June 2023.