Josh Cartu, also an influencer with nearly 800,000 Instagram followers, and his two younger brothers allegedly illegally sold binary options—all-or-nothing bets on whether a publicly traded company’s stock will go up or down—and misrepresented trade results. (CTV News)

Talking point: The Ontario Securities Commission brought a civil-enforcement action against the three men last year and claims they illegally sold the options to about 700 investors in Ontario, including a man in Barrie who lost $628,000. One of the brothers settled with the OSC and will pay $315,000, and is no longer part of the legal action. The brothers are also being sued in the U.S. and in Ireland, the latter of which is a 35-investor suit and includes an Ontario retiree who lost nearly $30,000. The eldest Cartu, whose social media account flaunts his wealth, and his brothers have been difficult for authorities to find. It appears Cartu may be living in Budapest or Russia, while one of his brothers may be in Israel or Russia, and the other in the republic of Georgia.