A man accused of a $7.8 million Ponzi scheme was the identity of the drowning victim in Okanagan River on June 20.

The BC Coroners Service confirmed in an email to Black Press that they were currently investigating the circumstances around Curtis Quigley's death. 

Multiple fire departments, BC Emergency Health Services and RCMP responded to the Okanagan River where Quigley and his two dogs had ended up in the water. 

Despite extensive life-saving efforts by first responders, the man was unable to be revived. 

The two dogs also drowned, and their bodies later recovered. 

Quigley and Kathleen Treadgold were both charged with 80 counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of laundering the proceeds of crime in Edmonton in August of 2023.

The pair, operating primarily out of Kelowna and Edmonton, allegedly offered securities in the form of promissory notes to guarantee investors a set return on their investment, which was often presented as a real estate flip.

The scheme was alleged to have been in operation from 2008 up to 2020, with some victims from as far away as Australia. 

The charges against Quigley are now likely to be stayed following his death, as was the case in the recent killing of Donald Lyons in Princeton.