Former taxi driver who conned millions in Ponzi scheme convicted

By Philip Aldrick and Aislinn Laing

Published: 7:30AM GMT 10 Mar 2010

Kevin Foster, 51, was convicted on 14 counts of theft and deception following
a seven-week trial at Harrow Crown Court, and now faces a maximum of seven
years in jail.

The court heard how he lured investors into his “pyramid scheme” at flamboyant
roadshows held in hotels and conference centres across the country.

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Fraudster who conned investors in £34m ‘pyramid’ scheme found guilty of 14 counts of theft and deception

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 7:24 PM on 09th March 2010

Kevin Foster, pictured here in 2004, was today found guilty of 14 counts of theft and deception
A fraudster who conned investors out of millions of pounds using a ‘pyramid’ scheme was today found guilty of 14 counts of theft and deception, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.Kevin Foster, 51, from Kent, attracted £34million of investment using roadshows at hotels and conference centres across the UK, Harrow Crown Court heard.He appeared on stage to loud music and cheering and handed prize winners gifts such as cars or cash.He promised high returns on a collection of gambling and network marketing activities.But there was no substance to his schemes and he was only able to make payouts with money from new investors.Foster funded an elaborate lifestyle, the court heard.Among the properties he bought was a £600,000 farm in Kent which he fitted out with a swimming pool, hot tub, exotic animals and Koi carp breeding pools.He also spent over £700,000 on cars and withdrew almost £3 million in cash.After a seven-week trial, a jury found him guilty of unauthorised investment activity, deliberately concealing facts from investors and stealing investors‘ funds.SFO director Richard Alderman said: ‘I am very pleased with this verdict.’This was a very complex investigation and the SFO was determined to bring justice for the many victims who lost their hard-earned savings to this Ponzi scheme.’Foster was found guilty of eight counts under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.He was also found guilty of six counts of theft, relating to his use of funds to purchase various properties and cars, and service his own extensive debts.The case has been adjourned to April 16 for pre-sentence and psychiatric reports and Foster has been remanded in custody.Foster started out in 2001, recruiting work colleagues to join a football betting scheme.He paid out to early participants with funds from new investors and encouraged them to bring in more business, expanding into new schemes.The court heard sceptical investors were won over when they heard about huge returns being delivered and encouraged friends and family to hand over their money.But Foster’s liability was increasing exponentially from scheme to scheme and it is estimated he would have needed to generate more than £250million to meet the accumulating expectations.When his activities were halted in February 2004, some 8,500 participants had invested £34million.The largest portion of funds was put into an illegal overseas pyramid selling scheme called Planline, purportedly run by a Cayman Islands-registered company called Infocus International, which had bank accounts in Switzerland.Infocus International claimed to be an internet-based art dealership but the “artwork” turned out to be worthless copies of paintings or photographic prints and the purchases were a front for a pure money tree.Of the £12million paid into Planline only £1,703 was ever returned.Foster maintained a high profile through the media, road shows, charitable donations and sponsoring local teams and sportsmen.His audacious roadshow claims included ‘I’m making about £28.50 from every £1′ and ‘This scheme has got 50,000 people in it’.Kent Police and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) interviewed Foster about his various activities, known as ‘KF Concept’, in January 2004 and searched his home in Kent.He was charged in May 2007 and his trial began on January 18.Foster was found not guilty on one count of theft relating to £220,000 found at his address and could not reach a verdict on a further theft count relating to a Ferrari Spyder.

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Fraudster impersonates City chief executive to steal £790,000 from Barclays

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By Matthew Moore


Published: 8:00AM GMT 13 Feb 2010

Bryan Wilson, 59, assumed the identity of Charlie Wilson, a former Marks and
Spencer executive with a fearsome reputation in the City, to carry out the
opportunistic fraud.

The conman even obtained a passport in the name of the boss to convince
Barclays staff to deposit the cash in his account, before fleeing to
Thailand.

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Computer whizz-kid who forged rail tickets ordered to pay back £12,000 in skipped fares

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:00 AM on 03rd October 2009

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Caught out: Jonathan Moore leaves Brighton Crown CourtA computer expert forged rail tickets to avoid paying for his daily commute for more than two years, a court heard yesterday. IT consultant Jonathan Moore, 27, saved a total of 12,472 by using his computer skills to produce phoney tickets for rail trips from East Sussex to London. He was caught when a ticket inspector on a train to Brighton noticed subtle differences in the colour and material of Moore’s ticket. A further 11 forged tickets dating back to 2006 were discovered in a plastic wallet in which Moore kept his ticket, and designs for more than 70 fraudulent ones were on a laptop at his home in Hove. Yesterday Moore was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence at Brighton Crown Court after pleading guilty previously to fraud, making 74 forged travel tickets and possessing 11 forged tickets. He was also ordered to repay the 12,472 of unpaid fares to First Capital Connect. Judge Richard Hayward told a tearful Moore: ‘It’s very sad that you should use your skills for a fraudulent purpose.’ The court heard that Moore printed fake season tickets supposedly valid for three or six months from his laptop. There was no evidence that he sold any forged tickets, and it was said he admitted committing the offences from July 2006 to last November at the earliest opportunity. Defence counsel Martin Cray said Moore, who had no previous convictions and lives with his partner of seven years, quit his IT job after his employers indicated that they would take disciplinary action. He said he could offer no excuse for his client’s actions other than to say he was undergoing difficulties both at home and at work.

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Sex-mad businessman who tried to mow down wife in £500,000 life insurance payout faces indefinite jail term

By
David Wilkes
Last updated at 7:28 PM on 23rd September 2009

‘Dangerous’: Michael Hollins, arriving at Worcester Crown Court, had discussed murder methods in an online chat-room
A failed entrepreneur who mowed down his wife to try to collect a 500,000 life insurance payout was facing an indefinite jail term tonight. Sex-mad Michael Hollins, 40, who led a double life by secretly fathering two children with a mistress, was facing ruin after a series of disastrous business ventures.He also had a string of other lovers and spent four hours in a hotel with one of his conquests six days before trying to kill wife Chloe in a staged hit-and-run accident.Mother of two Mrs Hollins, 41, was struck by a speeding Land Rover Discovery as she walked along a country lane to collect eggs from a farm near their home in Hereford. She suffered a fractured pelvis and broken leg and spent a month in hospital.Hollins, the son of a church minister, claimed he was at home when his wife of 15 years was hit.But the car was found abandoned and police discovered he had bought it without telling his family - and that he had discussed murder methods in an online chatroom saying he ‘always liked car accidents’ because they are ‘quick, instant’, the court heard.Police also found he had accessed a computer spreadsheet of life insurances while his wife was being operated on.Today a jury took just two hours to find him guilty of attempted murder after a ten-day trial at Worcester Crown Court during which the prosecution alleged he was motivated by ‘lust, sex and money‘ and ‘decided to rid himself of a wife he didn’t love in favour of more exciting women’.Judge Alistair McCreath said Hollins was ‘a dangerous offender’ and would ‘effectively be given a life sentence’, only being released when the parole board considered him safe.He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month after a psychological report on his wife to assess the impact of the crime.Hollins met the mistress he led a double life with, Franca Bianchet, while working for Polaroid in Scotland in 1999.He got a 195,000 mortgage to buy her a cottage in Helensburgh, near Glasgow, which she ran as a bed and breakfast, and they had a son and a daughter together. Hollins’ name appears on the birth certificates, which show that the daughter was born a year after he had his first child with his wife, while the son was born within weeks of the second child from his marriage.Miss Bianchet, 40, a Swiss national with Italian roots, told the court he told her he was separated from his wife, claiming she had ‘mental problems’. In fact, Mrs Hollins had suffered post natal depression and they were still living together.Hollins covered up his double life by telling his wife he was on business trips when he went to visit his other family.He also bought another bed and breakfast and 12 flats to rent in Glasgow. But by 2007 his relationship with Miss Bianchet was on the rocks. She said: ‘I was expecting him to decide between the two families. But he couldn’t make a commitment.’ After he failed to appear for Christmas that year she threw him out.Meanwhile, the bank had blacklisted him after forcing him to sell the Glasgow flats, a scheme to build six homes failed, and a plan to import South African curry into Britain - delivered in Del Boy-style three-wheeler vehicles - backfired. His wife’s parents lent them 10,000 to keep them afloat. Mrs Hollins told the court they had cashed in one insurance policy for 8,000 to help pay off their mounting debts and he had become ‘really annoyed’ when she refused to cash in more.She said: ‘Things became very tense because of his financial stress. Mike had been calm and patient but now he started attacking me verbally. He was a Christian when we met but he stopped going to church with me.’He told another lover, Anne Mills, he was a property developer who once had a 2million portfolio, the court heard. She paid 80 for the hotel room in Worcester they shared on his birthday just days before Mrs Hollins was mown down in July last year.Earlier that year Hollins sent pictures of Anne Wankiiri, 42, a council worker from Northampton described as his long-time girlfriend, in ‘indecent poses’ to a friend via the internet, the court heard. She is standing by him and arrived with him at court today.Detectives also discovered that he billed himself as ‘Temptation’, ‘Tigger’ and ‘Ginger Man’ on dating sites where he had intimate conversations with women tagged ‘Sally Ritzy Sparkle’ and ‘Sharon Redhead 3′.In one computer log he explained how he went looking for prostitutes when his wife left him for a month, saying: ‘I would go nuts if I don’t get sex often enough.’Hollins, who was on bail living in Northampton during the trial, denied attempted murder. He was declared bankrupt earlier this year.He shook his head as the verdict was given. Miss Bianchet, who was at court in the public gallery, burst into tears.Last night Mrs Hollins said in a statement issued via the police: ‘I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to the people who saved my life, to all those who worked to achieve justice and to everyone who has shown me and my family such kindness and support over the past 14 months. ‘I now want to put this terrible and traumatic experience behind me and move on with my life.’ 

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Benefit cheat who conned £20k rumbled on Facebook after boasts of living the rich life

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:33 AM on 28th August 2009

A benefits cheat who conned nearly 20,000 in rent and council tax got caught after boasting about his champagne lifestyle on Facebook.Arrogant Jonathan McGrory, 39, used the cash to fund extravagant cruises, two houses and a business empire.The father-of-two told the authorities he was living on the breadline and claimed housing benefits and also had his council tax paid for him.
Arrogant: Benefits cheat Jonathan McGrory was caught out after boasting of his luxury lifestyle on Facebook and Friends Reunited
But after Coventry City Council received an anonymous tip-off investigators read his Facebook and Friends Reunited profiles where he boasted of owning two businesses, two houses and spending thousands on plush holidays.In one entry he even said he had just returned home from a 4,000 cruise. He boasted of about ‘owning several properties and letting out a hair and beauty salon.

One of the pictures which helped
nail McGrory was taken in Greece on May 23, 2005 - during the period he
was scamming the authorities.Under a picture of him grinning at the camera he wrote: ‘I’ve put on
a few pounds, all that rich living I suppose.’ 
He posted messages about piling on the pounds because of his ‘rich living’
And under another
photograph of himself sunbathing in Turkey in 2007 he says: ‘Soaking up
the sun. I’m piling on the pounds.’
Coventry Crown Court made a Confiscation Order giving McGrory, from Coventry, West Midlands, 12 months to pay back the 19,679.54.He had claimed the money from the city council between August 2004 and June 2007.At an earlier hearing in April McGrory pleaded guilty to four charges of making false statements, failing to declare he owned two properties for which he was receiving a rental income.He was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months and given a 12 month supervision order.McGrory had rented out a run-down two-bedroom terrace house in Coventry which he used for correspondence.But a woman who answered the door yesterday said: ‘He has not been here for six months or more. He is the landlord but I have never met him.’When we moved into the house it was a really awful state. He obviously didn’t take any interest in the place but he does still get his post mailed here.’When me and my husband moved in we had to do lots of work to make the house liveable. I cannot believe he was a benefits cheat - the money certainly didn’t go into his properties.’He deserves everything he gets.’ Speaking after the court case on Wednesday, Cllr Kevin Foster, deputy
leader of the council, said: ‘This man not only had the arrogance to
think he could defraud the system, but also the sheer stupidity to
boast about his luxurious lifestyle.
‘Thankfully another person had the community spirit to ring the fraud hotline and help save the public a lot of money.’

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City oil traders in court over Iraq sanctions breach

By Christopher Hope

Published: 9:49PM BST 26 Aug 2009

The news is further evidence of progress in the Serious Fraud Office’s £22m
investigation into alleged sanctions-busting by British companies and
individuals.

Aftab Al Hassan, 65, of north London was charged on 20 August and was bailed
to appear before City of London Magistrates’ Court later on Thursday.

Riad el Tahir, 70, of Esher, Surrey, was also charged earlier this month and
appeared before City of London Magistrates’ Court on 19 August.

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KPMG boss stole £545,000 in expenses scam to fund his new wife’s £15,000-a-month lifestyle

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 6:19 PM on 25th August 2009

Facing jail: Andrew Wetherall leaving Southwark Crown Court
A director at accountancy giant KPMG is facing jail today after being convicted of a 545,000 expenses fraud.Andrew Wetherall, 49, submitted the claims over a five-year period so he could buy cars, designer watches, computer equipment, five star holidays and even divorce his first wife.The executive was already earning a six-figure salary when he carried out the scam. He later told police he could not cope with the
‘financial expectations’ of his second wife who required at least
15,000 a month and did not want her ‘lifestyle to suffer’.Wetherall bumped up his earnings by making hundreds of claims for flights he
never took and submitting receipts for items that did not exist,
Southwark Crown Court heard.Mr Wetherall pretended family holidays and expensive meals were all part of his business expenditure.  Prosecutor Samantha Hatt said: ‘He made these claims between 2002 and
2008 when his conduct was discovered by an employee of KPMG. ‘The total amount he claimed was 545,620.’ She said Mr Wetherall
was in a position of ‘authority, responsibility and trust’ when a
colleague began to question claims he had made for air travel.Initially
he claimed it was a simple mistake and he had over claimed by accident.
He also offered to immediately repay 18,000.   But
investigations continued and revealed Mr Wetherall had pocketed more
than a half a million pounds and he was suspended in February last
year.   During a disciplinary hearing Mr Wetherall owned up to his crimes and handed bosses a cheque for 305,000.He explained he had put most of the money in a savings account and the ’shortfall was due to paying for his lifestyle.’  Ms Hatt said: ‘He attributed this to legals costs from his divorce from his first wife, the purchase of a motor vehicle for himself for 60,000 and the part payment of a motor vehicle for his current wife for 14,000.’He also admitted during the interview that he carried out the fraud in a number of ways.  
Convicted: Wetherall with a woman friend believed to be his wife
‘He used false invoices for himself and also for his line manager.’He also made multiple claims for legitimate trips and claimed personal expenditure as business expenditure including holidays to Singapore and Thailand, a 4,000 watch, a 2,000 camera and high value computer equipment.’ 
Ms Hatt said he took advantage of the knowledge he had of the accounting firm‘s expenses policy and knew if he claimed for less than 5,000 at a time no questions would be asked.   Mr Wetherall claimed for a 480,000 worth of air travel, of which at least 243,000 was supported with fake documents. He was later arrested by police.   ‘He said his financial problems began when his second wife’s ex husband tried to reduce maintenance payments to her,’ Ms Hatt said.   ‘He didn’t want to go through a second divorce so started up the fraud.  ‘He felt the pressure of his current wife’s financial expectations which were in the sum of 15,000 a month and he didn’t want her lifestyle to suffer so he turned to crime to ensure that it didn’t.’  Mr Wetherall told officers once he started stealing it became easier and easier as there were ‘few controls or restrictions upon him and he became cavalier in his approach.’ The disgraced executive has so far paid back 337,228.60, but still owes more than 200,000.   Judge Gregory Stone QC adjourned sentence until September 15 for further financial investigations to be carried out but warned Mr Wetherall that jail was the likely outcome.Mr Wetherall, of St Albans, Herfordshire, admitted false accounting between September 2002 and January 2007.He also admitted fraud between January 2007 and February 2008.

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Defence barristers face huge pay cuts in bid to reform legal aid

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:39 PM on 20th August 2009

Drastic cuts: Defence barristers could see their fees slashed by a quarter (posed by model)
Defence barristers in Crown Court cases could see their fees cut by up to a quarter under proposed reforms to the legal aid system in England and Wales published today.The Ministry of Justice said it wanted to bring defence fees ‘more in line’ with rates for prosecuting barristers, who earn on average 23 per cent less.Payments for expert witnesses giving their opinions at civil and criminal trials are also predicted to fall, by up to a fifth.Duty solicitors at some police stations will also feel the pinch as their fees are cut.The
2billion legal aid budget has become a target for savings as ministers
attempt to cut the Justice department’s total budget by 1billion over
the next three years.Justice minister Lord Bach said the changes
would ‘protect’ civil legal aid during the economic downturn by
preventing rises in spending on criminal cases.Lord Bach said:
‘The UK has one of the best funded legal aid systems in the world and
it is a vital service for many people, particularly during the current
economic downturn.’More and more homeowners, employees and those facing financial hardship, are vulnerable to civil law problems at this time.’We
need to do all we can to ensure that legal aid is prioritised
effectively so that more people are able to access it and resolve their
legal problems’Legal aid practitioners provide a fantastic
service and should be paid accordingly; and that means rebalancing some
fee structures so that there is greater fairness across the board.’The consultation document Legal Aid: Funding Reforms says that in some parts of the country there are four times as many firms competing for police station work than are needed.Some areas pay out hundreds of pounds more than others per case in what is described as ‘widely disparate’ pricing.Law firms in some areas have been engaged in an ‘arms race’ to hire more solicitors because of excessive fees, the impact assessment states.The aim is to reduce the 180million spent on duty solicitors by 9million a year by cutting 10 per cent from budgets in 88 of the most expensive areas, most of which are in London.Payments to expert witnesses totalled 192million last year but experts from different fields are paid different amounts, undermining value for money, the document states.Ministers intend to impose maximum rates in criminal and civil cases to stop ‘unsustainable’ increases in costs.Other proposals include:The separate budget for high cost trials to be cut by around 5 per cent.Lawyers to see fees for committal hearings combined into a single payout and to lose payments for reviewing criminal files.The Legal Services Commission, which runs legal aid, will be required to cut 18million over two years from administration costs.

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Taxpayer funds £20,000 court case to prosecute man for stealing 25p banana… and he is found not guilty

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:11 PM on 07th August 2009

Cleared: James Gallagher was found not guilty of stealing a 25p banana. But his two-day trial cost taxpayers 20,000
A man prosecuted for stealing a 25p banana has been cleared after a trial which cost the taxpayer 20,000.James Gallagher, 23, was accused of stealing the fruit from the Del Villagio restaurant in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.But a jury at Birmingham Crown Court jurors took less than half an hour to find him not guilty of burglary and a lesser charge of theft.Speaking after the verdict was delivered, Mr Gallagher said: ‘It’s shocking, it’s just a waste of taxpayers’ money. I cannot understand how they’ve got away with it.’Recorder Mr Shamim Qureshi told the jury before they delivered their verdict: ‘It is easy sometimes to think “What is this case doing at the crown court?”‘Today is day two - this theoretically has cost 20,000.’Our criminal legal system in this country is second to none when compared to many other legal systems around the world, it enables the person to come to the crown court and say I want to be tried by my peers.’The allegation is one which is burglary and that is always a serious allegation no matter what is alleged to have been stolen in the burglary itself.’It is fairly easy to make lots of jokes, but do remember it is a serious allegation that the defendant faces.’Mr Gallagher, who lives in Handsworth, Birmingham, said he was relieved and had chosen a crown court trial because he expected magistrates would have found him guilty.Mr Gallagher was charged with burglary contrary to the Theft Act.He was accused of entering the Italian restaurant with Christopher Ogelsby, 22, at 8.45am on March 13 when its deli was not due to open until 10am, and stole a banana.The jury heard that the shutters at Del Villagio were halfway up and after seeing a member of staff in the store, Mr Gallagher and Ogelsby went underneath them into the store and picked up bananas.They were already being watched by security officers and were apprehended almost immediately before being arrested.Ogelsby pleaded guilty to burglary at Birmingham Magistrates Court on March 14 and was given a 12-month conditional discharge.In Mr Gallagher’s defence, Mr Niall Skinner told the court he and Ogelsby were tipsy after drinking until the early hours to celebrate Mr Gallagher’s birthday two days before. He said he had not been given the chance to pay for the goods, even though he had money on him, because the security team had acted and accused him so quickly.Martin Lindop, district crown prosecutor for Birmingham Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The Crown Prosecution Service recommended that this matter was suitable to be dealt with in the magistrates’ court. ‘However, Mr James Gallagher elected trial by jury, as is his right, so the case was heard in the crown court.’It is not the cost of the item that determines whether we proceed with a prosecution, but whether there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest.’In this case, we felt that there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest for the prosecution to proceed.

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