Ex-SJP adviser accused of fraud claims to be victim of £550k scam - Citywire.co.uk
Marc Payne was an adviser with restricted network SJP between 2007 and 2013. In 2008 and 2009 he advised four clients to put money into a company called SPS which marketed drinks and sun cream, the Exeter Express & Echo reported. It folded in 2012 and a group of seven investors lost all their money, which totalled at £583,000. Payne has been accused of one count of fraud and four counts of carrying on a regulated financial activity without authorisation. Exeter Crown Court heard that Payne advised Richard Bliss, aged 91 to invest £30,000 and Valerie Addicott, aged 83, William Maynard, aged 83, and Elizabeth Gage, 84, £50,000 each into SPS. Payne said he advised his clients to invest, and also invested £50,000 of his own money into the venture, because SPS had financial projections which claimed it had major contracts with supermarkets. Payne invested £50,000 of his own money in return for a 10% share but believed the company was growing so fast that when he urged his clients to do so they only received a 5% share for the same price. Payne denied breaking regulations because he provided the four investors with letters which made it clear the money they put into SPS was a private arrangement, it was a high-risk investment and not covered by the FSCS. Source: citywire.co.uk
