Foreign exchange trader Joseph Lewis has pleaded guilty to fraud after conning clients around the globe out of millions via an international investment scam.
The operation, which went on for a decade, saw him take clients’ money and pretend to trade, according to the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
But, after using his final customer’s funds, Lewis surprisingly emailed all his clients and admitted their investments had not been traded since 2009.
He told them he had been pocketing the money and not investing it on their behalf.
The fraudster then went to a local police station, confessed and was subsequently arrested.
Lavish lifestyle
Lewis ran the scam from Turkey, where he attracted clients from across the world to invest in foreign exchange trading.
He would send false monthly reports, creating the illusion that his company was successful, and even provided clients holding larger portfolios with ATM cards and invited them to lavish events, the CPS said.
The funds, however, were paid into Lewis’ personal accounts.
Problems started in 2013 when some clients requested withdrawals. The fraudster tried to delay the transactions for as long as he could and failed to return the money, but was forced to refund those investors threatening legal action against him and his firm.
After he run out of his final client’s investment, he revealed all about the scam.
Lewis took responsibility for running a Ponzi scheme that conned investors out of £20.5m ($27m, €23m), and pleaded guilty to 19 counts of fraud by false representation.
Manipulation
Anamarie Coomansingh, prosecutor at the CPS’ Specialist Fraud Division, said: “Lewis netted a huge amount of money from people who came from all walks of life and believed it was a good use of their savings and pensions.
“Many of these investors have suffered significant losses because of their involvement with Lewis’ scheme and it is clear that he manipulated a lot of people with the false picture he painted of his ‘trading.’
“Most of the money investors gave to Lewis appears to have been spent on funding his lifestyle, paying back early investors in his scheme, and making risky investments which failed. We will continue to try to identify assets that could be made available to compensate his victims.”
Detective sergeant Lee Nelson, from the City of London Police, said: “Lewis knew his victims were investing money to save towards retirement or to make a better life for their young family, and instead he used their money to fund his own extravagant lifestyle. He also used their funds to put on impressive events and meetings across the world.
“I can’t even begin to describe the devastating impact this has had on people’s lives, many of whom will never be able to recover financially and psychologically. Lewis has destroyed marriages, family bonds and friendships, as these fraudulent investments often came from peer-to-peer recommendations.
“I hope that the sentence passed down to Lewis will leave him with nothing but time in jail to reflect on his deceitful and greedy actions.”
He will be sentenced on 9 October 2020.
