After previously pleading not guilty to perverting the course of justice, Stephen Allen has pleaded guilty to forgery at Southwark Crown Court following a criminal charge by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
He will be sentenced on 24 September 2021.
The forgery charge relates to proceedings by the FCA against an individual named Renwick Haddow. He operated several unauthorised collective investment schemes, which ended in a successful judgement against Haddow and several others in 2018.
Haddow and others were ordered by the UK high court to pay £16.9m ($23.41m, €19.77m) in restitution.
It is not clear what role, if any, Allen played in the initial scam.
Among his assets, Haddow owned a stake in a property which should have been available to the FCA for the restitution order, however Allen forged a trust deed that hid Haddow’s interest.
The forgery helped Haddow avoid the property being sold for the benefit of the victims of the unauthorised collective investment schemes.
Through the guilty plea, Allen admitted the forgery. The property has now been sold and proceeds have recently been distributed to affected investors.
US
In 2018, Haddow was charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading investors in a separate $37m (£28m, €32m) scam.
He is awaiting sentence having pleaded guilty to a the fraud prosecuted by the US department of justice.
