The High Court in Edinburgh on 12 March heard Alastair Greig, who ran Aberdeen-based Midas Financial Solutions, had scammed people out of their life savings, according to the BBC.
Judge Lord Tyre said the £13m ($16.4m, €14.7m) Ponzi scheme had brought misery to many people, “it is a conviction of fraud on a truly shocking scale”.
Sentencing was deferred to the High Court in Glasgow on 15 April, but the judge said: “There is likely to be very little alternative to a lengthy period in custody.”
Luxury
Midas, which was run by Greig and Ian Towe before it went bust in 2014, operated as an appointed representative of authorised firm Sense Network.
Investors were told by Midas the investments carried “attractive guaranteed returns” placed on favourable terms due to the owner’s relationship with a well-known high street bank.
But the high-interest accounts never existed and, instead, investors’ money was placed into a “Ponzi scheme” operated by the owner of Midas.
While the money came in, Greig funded personal investments in property, including a holiday home in Cornwall, and a classic car business, the BBC reported.
He treated himself to Bentley and Range Rover cars and spent money on trips to Old Trafford to see Manchester United and to Cheltenham and Ascot for horse racing meetings.
‘Personal slush fund’
Prosecutor Steven Borthwick told the High Court in Edinburgh: “In some cases these were the life savings of people who had worked all their lives and saved to create a nest egg for their retirement.
“Alistair Greig used that money as his own personal slush fund.
“It seemed, from the outside, that the scheme was working as advertised but that was also a lie and that lie helped promote and prolong the big lie told by Alistair Greig.
“There were lies told by Alistair Greig to different people at different times over years with the same purpose – to put their trust in him so they would hand over their money.”
Sympathy
Greig, who denied committing the fraud and blamed a former business associate for the losses, claimed he felt sympathy for the victims.
He told the court: “My heart goes out to all of them. There is nothing I can do. I have lost every single thing I had, the properties, my home, everything.
“I know exactly how they feel. It has happened to me.”
Last month, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) made victims aware they may be eligible for compensation.
