Forex trader's prison sentence extended for two years

A financial adviser has seen his 10 year prison sentence extended for a further two years after failing to pay a confiscation order.

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
15th March 2016
Legal

In addition to Phillip Boakes' existing convictions for fraudulent trading, the FCA issued a confiscation order for the sum of £165,731 in November 2015 and the period given to satisfy the order has now expired.

In a statement, the FCA said:

"Unfortunately, as is often the case with fraudulent unauthorised investment schemes, Mr Boakes spent much of the monies on a lavish lifestyle and unsuccessful financial trading. He was made bankrupt on 30 January 2013 and at the time the Confiscation Order was made, it was accepted that he had no assets available to him to satisfy it. However, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the value of tainted gifts can be recovered from defendants even when such monies may no longer be available to them. As such, Mr Boakes was ordered to pay a sum equal to the value of the gifts he made to others. All monies recovered from Mr Boakes will be used to compensate the victims of his crimes."

Last year, Mr Boakes pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent trading, three counts of using a forged instrument and one count of accepting deposits without authorisation. He ran his scam through his company Currency Trader Ltd, which claimed to carry out foreign exchange spread betting for its customers. The scam encouraged people to invest on the promise of guaranteed annual returns of 20% or more. In reality, Mr Boakes was not authorised by the FCA to accept deposits and the pledge of guaranteed returns was a fiction. The ‘returns’ were funded from the deposit itself or from funds received from new investors. Through his actions, he defrauded investors of at least £3.5 million.

Mr Boakes appealed his sentence but was dismissed by The Court of Appeal, with Lord Justice Jackson stating that Mr Boakes had embarked on a “giant Ponzi scheme” involving very vulnerable victims.

Describing the offences as “extremely unpleasant” and a “gross breach of trust”, Lord Justice Jackson noted that Mr Boakes had led an extravagant lifestyle. In upholding the sentence, the Court considered that a number of the victims had suffered “life changing loss” and as a result 10 years’ imprisonment was “not a day too long”.

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