A fraudster claiming to be an investment manager has been jailed for three years after defrauding friends and family out of millions of pounds.
Anthony Vernon Parker, 59, ran a fraudulent Ponzi scheme to fund his lifestyle.
He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Crown Court in Leicester earlier this month after pleading guilty to one count of fraud by making false statements and one count of participating in a fraudulent business.
Leicestershire Police investigated Mr Parker after he was referred to 42 victims by Action Fraud.
Mr Parker, who lived in Castle Donington, Derby for seven years from January 2011 to March 2018, told clients he intended to invest his money in spread betting, saying his system was “virtually risk-free”. ‘ said.
In reality, it was a Ponzi scheme, where the proceeds were paid to customers using other customers’ funds.
He persuaded friends and family to leave money with him for the purposes of spread betting schemes, and others later became involved through “word of mouth” and endorsements.
More than £3.4m was invested in Parker and Parker was sentenced on the basis of total irrecoverable losses from 20 victims amounting to £1.09m.
He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on clothing, rent and rent, credit card payments, pubs and restaurants, utilities, subscriptions, and Amazon purchases, even though he had no other sources of income. I was.
Jane Mitchell, Specialist Prosecutor at the Office of the Prosecutor, said:
“Many of these investors suffered heavy losses due to their involvement in Parker’s schemes. . “