Ex-Pru men deny Lords investment swindle - FT Adviser
Mark Chapman and his brother Lee claimed to have marketing deals with the MCC to use the name of their home ground at Lords on a range of exclusive whiskies and gins. Lee Chapman and Payne, who were former financial advisers with Prudential but were no longer employed by the insurer when they recommended the two companies, persuaded former clients to plough their savings into the venture. Mark Chapman bought a £46,000 Range Rover Sport, a £30,000 Porsche Boxster and a Mini Cooper and allegedly used company money to pay his mortgage and household bills. Mark Chapman founded SPS in 2006 and persuaded business contact Graham Knight to inject £250,000 by telling him it had marketing rights to use the name of Lords Cricket Ground. His brother Lee is a former Prudential agent who allegedly abused the trust of three elderly fomer clients from Devon to persuade them to invest £97,000 in the businesses. His brother Lee Chapman, aged 49, from Merton, near Okehampton, denies four charges of fraud and three of acting as an unauthorised financial. Source: www.ftadviser.com
