Legal
Two UK Advisors Admit To $24 Million Scam
The case was heard at Norwich Crown Court in the UK earlier this week.
Two UK-based financial advisors have pleaded guilty to defrauding
more than 200 investors out of pension savings totalling £17
million ($24 million).
Brothers Alan and Russell Taylor ran financial advice firm Taylor
and Taylor Associates and were directors and shareholders of
Vantage Investment Group, a fund manager.
They were accused of placing around £17 million from Taylor and
Taylor into a fund ran by Vantage, without informing clients that
it was a high-risk investment or disclosing they held interests
in both companies.
Prosecutors at Norwich Crown Court said earlier this week that
the pair had forged client records and convinced vulnerable and
elderly clients to hand over access to their pensions, according
to North Norfolk News. The scam saw clients’ cash gambled “on the
spin of a roulette wheel” to “line their own pockets”, the news
wire reported prosecutors as saying. The pair admitted one count
of conspiracy to defraud.
Originally, the duo was charged with seven fraud-related offenses
in 2016. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ordered
Vantage to shut shop after it found it did not have permission to
operate an alternative investment fund. Taylor and Taylor
shuttered in 2015.