A man and his nephew were handed custodial sententences on 23 June 2021 for using a ‘spread betting’ investment scheme.
Simon Reynolds was sentenced to six years’ while his nephew Ian Reynolds to three and a half years in jail.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Simon set up two companies between 2008 and 2012 called Percentage Profits and Sporting Profits, and hired Ian to help him.
They posed as expert investors to their friends and family members to “attract large sums of personal and life savings into their fraudulent scheme, promising high returns on low risk investments”, the CPS said.
The duo promised to make money on betting exchanges which could provide an income of 2% a month on any investments. Their sales pitch also claimed that only 1% of the money would be at risk.
During the period at least 145 people invested just under £5m ($7m, €6m). As a result, this led to a “large and complex” investigation by the Sussex Police into the financial arrangements of the men, including their attempts to hide their “fraudulent activity”.
Fraudsters created an ‘illusion’
The pair sent their victims monthly personalised updates, “falsely claiming large mark-ups on their investments”, the CPS said.
A total of £1.6m was repaid to some investors, but the remainder was “gambled away” by the Reynolds and used to fund their living expenses.
Many people lost their pensions, inheritances and life savings.
Louise Whitehead of the CPS said: “This was a particularly complex fraud operation, where victims lost their life savings on so-called low risk investments.
“The pair created a false image of themselves as trusted expert investors and created the illusion that their investment scheme was fail-safe.
“They used the personal trust the victims had in them to steal millions of pounds from their family and friends, deceiving them into believing their investments were making significant returns, thereby encouraging further investments. The investments, however, were not protected in the way they were promised, and the money was largely gambled away.
“After a complex investigation and prosecution by both Sussex Police and the specialist fraud division of the CPS, the extent of the investment fraud committed by both defendants has been uncovered and some justice has now been obtained for the many victims.”
Simon Reynolds pleaded guilty on two counts of fraud with the intention of causing loss to victims, while Ian Reynolds was found guilty of one count of fraud.
