A salutary tale
- Thread starter vernon
- Start date
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Amateur. My uncle's just done a runner with about £15.5m of other people's money. Wasn't gambling per se, but it was gambling on markets going a certain way and then the currency markets crashed.
I fully expect people to pursue him until he is dead. He messed up. It's his fault and his problem. If it kills him in the end, he only has himself to blame. Mr. Plod is currently involved and I think a prison term is very likely.
When you are entrusted with other people's money you treat it as you would your own (no not spend it!) and make sure it is ring-fenced. You can't do that if you are gambling, no matter how good you think you are.
I fully expect people to pursue him until he is dead. He messed up. It's his fault and his problem. If it kills him in the end, he only has himself to blame. Mr. Plod is currently involved and I think a prison term is very likely.
When you are entrusted with other people's money you treat it as you would your own (no not spend it!) and make sure it is ring-fenced. You can't do that if you are gambling, no matter how good you think you are.
Silver Fox
Guru
I don't think anyone would like to see this end in suicide but ultimately if he has stolen colleagues money ( assuming this to be the case ) then he has to accept responsibility for his actions and the consequences that result.
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
I suspect you have just been involved in the downfall of a compulsive gambler. An addict who used you to feed his obsession. It would surprise me to learn that your guess regarding where
..is correct. I would suggest it's in the pockets of Messrs Hill and Ladbroke et al.
Piemaster
Guru
- Location
- UK City of Culture
One of the guys I work with is a regular gambler, usually on the horses. He is upfront in that he told me he loses £200 - £300 per year which he regards as an acceptable loss to pay for his hobby. Sure theres plenty on here that spend more on cycling or other hobbies.
He is however crap at football bets. He's put bets on two opposing teams against my team and lost both times. I've tried to encourage him to back the other team in all our future matches as I fancy some european football in a couple of seasons time.
He is however crap at football bets. He's put bets on two opposing teams against my team and lost both times. I've tried to encourage him to back the other team in all our future matches as I fancy some european football in a couple of seasons time.
slugonabike
New Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
OK, this whole thing is pure fantasy on my part so let's go a step further - how about if I couldn't face the loss of £25,00 and what that would mean to my family so I committed suicide ...
mark barker
New Member
- Location
- Swindon, Wilts
I'm not suggesting losing £25k would be easy for anybody, but I was trying to point out that maybe the money was worth less than the well being of a friend. It would seem that I am in the minority here. As for the investor committing suicide after losing the investment, I guess that is always a possibility, but the loss of money alone is far less than the loss of everything.
OP
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vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
I agree with youi. If someone is going to steal some cash, it ought to be a seriously huge amount to allow the high life to be lived until arrest.
Bayerd
Über Member
- Location
- Marsden, Huddersfield
I would have thought in this situation that he'd be in breach of FSA legislation surrounding investments, as it sounds like the scheme has been set up in this way. I'd be surprised if he issued literature along the lines of 'the value of your investment may go down as well as up' etc...
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vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
And in breach of FSA regulations he get a large fine to add to his liabilities should he be reported - a bit of a non starter and the least of my colleagues' worries.
Bayerd
Über Member
- Location
- Marsden, Huddersfield
And in breach of FSA regulations he get a large fine to add to his liabilities should he be reported - a bit of a non starter and the least of my colleagues' worries.
Most certainly true, and I wasn't advocating that this was a line you persued as I know to you it's a loss you're willing to stand. I was more hoping that someone with more knowledge in this area might chip in with what the legal situation is likely to be. I think the situation you described in the first post would be enough to screw him up for the rest of his days anyway.....
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
Well I would take it to court only if I wanted to be shown up myself. Trusting your pension to such a scheme is hardly self-advertising at its finest!
The problem is you can be FSA registered, can put a nice little 'FSA' on your letterhead even, but if you're trading below a certain level ( which in most people's books is actually quite high, something like £30k a month or less from memory) that's where their involvement and responsibility ends. The FSA are, to all intents and purposes, a bunch of useless w******. Is this the legal position you were looking for?
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vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
An update....
All bar £5k has been repaid and the balance is being paid at £800 per month to clear the debt by October.
There's definitely more to the affair than meets the eye as he has not collected his pension yet nor his lump sum but everyone is currently in profit even if he defaults on the £5k.
The sad thing is that the ex-colleague has lost the opportunity to have a proper farewell, a leaving do and the chance to maintain contact with a large number of his ex-colleagues.
I'm not sure what his game plan was but I've got the feeling that he's laughing at his good fortune and an early retirement with unblemished criminal and disciplinary records.
In investment circle its known as a Madoff (with then money) Investment after Bernie Madoff who did something similar with billions of dollars of investors money. I would be very wary that the repayments are coming from scamming new investors into his scheme. Forget the disruption to the family, it will out sooner or later and the later it is the greater the hole and the worse the family will be hurt. Force an end to it now with the police and tell them you suspect a "Ponzi scheme"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal
