The director of Nexus Independent Financial Advisers and the firm’s business operations manager have pleaded guilty to fraud after four clients lost £2m.
Kerry Nelson – who is also the director of Nexus Investment Managers – and Jacqueline Stephens admitted to the charges brought against them by the FCA at Portsmouth Crown Court yesterday (12 October).
The pair were accused of defrauding clients between January 2019 and January 2023 using false documents, with Nelson also admitting to money laundering after money taken from the businesses was used to fund her extravagant lifestyle.
The FCA placed restrictions on both firms to prevent them from carrying on regulated activity and from reducing the value of the assets they held in on 25 January 2023. Both firms were placed into administration by the High Court on 26 January 2023. The FCA began criminal proceedings against Nelson and Stephens in February 2025.
Nelson and Stephens will now be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 10 December 2026 and the FCA will seek confiscation proceedings to prevent Nelson from benefiting financially from her criminal conduct.
Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “This was a serious breach of trust. Nelson and Stephens caused significant losses to clients who relied on them. We will continue to act where people exploit clients for their own gain.”
