The chairman of defunct Caribbean property group Harlequin was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 30 September 2022 at Southwark Crown Court.
David Ames was the man behind the investment scheme which saw over 8,000 UK investors lose £226m ($252m, €257m) between 2010 and 2015.
He was found guilty of two counts of fraud by abuse of position on 3 August 2022.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) explained that victims were conned into investing their pensions, mostly Sipps, and life savings in holiday properties in St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, Barbados and other countries in the Caribbean.
But the Harlequin scheme had no external funding and, as a result, never delivered the returns it had promised. Almost no properties were ever constructed and around 99% of investors made no returns, the SFO said.
Several victims were forced to delay retirement after losing their pensions and life savings; while others have continuously struggled with financial hardship after falling prey to the scam.
A ‘menace’ to investors
When delivering Ames’ sentence, judge Hehir said: “You were clearly far more interested in pocketing investors’ money than in ensuring those investors were getting what they were paying for.
“You were a slick and plausible salesman and thoroughly dishonest with it… You are a menace to anybody unfortunate enough to do business with you.”
Lisa Osofsky, director at the Serious Fraud Office, added: “Those who are trusted with investors’ money have a fundamental duty to safeguard the interests of those investors. As [the] sentencing shows, we will not tolerate those who abuse that trust, showing contempt for their victims and the law while squandering other people’s money for their own gain.”
