The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged three people with fraud for their alleged involvement in a high-risk trading scheme targeting pension savings.
Kristofer McGuire, Keith Williamson and Karla Walker have been charged with offences including fraud by false representation and fraudulent trading. It is alleged they targeted victims by persuading them to invest in contracts for difference (CFDs).
The defendants will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 June, 2024.
CFDs are a high-risk investment product used to bet on the price of an asset. They provide no ownership or right over the asset itself.
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The regulator said many victims of the alleged fraud were encouraged to use their pensions to invest in the scheme. The money was then traded to generate large commissions for those running the scheme, according to the FCA charges. The alleged victims’ pension funds were almost entirely lost, with the total known sum being £8m.
The FCA alleges that McGuire, Williamson and Walker made false statements to a trading platform that their clients were professional investors. Williamson and McGuire are accused of fraudulent trading while McGuire faces five further counts of fraud by false representation.
