The longest sentence ever handed out in connection with an FCA prosecution was imposed on Benjamin Wilson of Bournemouth last week. It is another example of the Financial Conduct Authority's more agressive approach to investigations and prosecutions.
In all, Wilson was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for defrauding investors of over £21m, having pleaded guilty in December 2013 to fraud, forgery and operating a collective investment scheme without authorisation.
According to the FCA, the unauthorised investment firm ran by Wilson, SureInvestment, was a sham, costing investors millions which were used to fund Wilson’s extravagant lifestyle.
In total, over 300 investors trusted Wilson with £21.8m. When the operation was closed down by the FCA, £17.54m was owed to investors and it is estimated that £5.39m in total will be recovered.
SureInvestment was set up in 2003 when Wilson was 24 years old. Within a few months the then regulator, the Financial Service Authority (FSA), had informed him that he needed to be authorised to continue to trade or had to close down. Wilson later lied to the FSA, claiming he had wound up the firm and repaid his investors. To verify his account, the FSA contacted investors. However, Wilson persuaded them to tell the regulator that he had returned their money, when in reality he had encouraged them to invest in a separate ‘overseas’ fund.
In October 2010, following information that suggested Wilson was still operating an investment scheme, the FSA acted through the civil courts, obtaining an injunction to freeze assets and restrain the unauthorised activity, and pursuing civil action. When the scale of his dishonesty became clear, the FSA began a criminal investigation - Wilson was arrested and his house and offices were searched in a joint operation with Dorset Police.
The sentence now imposed on Wilson includes seven years for fraud, 18 months for not being FCA authorised and two and four years for counts of forgery, with all the terms to run concurrently. As well as being the longest sentence for anyone prosecuted by the FCA it is also the second longest for either the FCA or its predecessor, the FSA.
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This blog post is intended as a news item only - no connection between Lewis Nedas and the parties concerned is intended or implied.
