Two Nottinghamshire fraudsters concocted a £47.5m scam which cheated hundreds of people out of life savings and pensions.
Richard Aston Clay (pictured above) and his business partner Kathryn Joy Clark both admitted fraud and forgery charges.
The elaborate con involved them running a company called Arck LLP which encouraged investors to part with large sums of cash.
Clay, 50, was sentenced to ten years and ten months in prison for his part in the crime, but Clark, 52, escaped an immediate prison term after being given two years, suspended, plus 300 hours of community service.
Clark was authorised under the Financial Services Act – and used this to forge bank statements to placate victims who had become suspicious about their investments.
You have shown not a shred of remorse for the damage you have caused
Using her credibility the pair were able to set up multiple investment products from an office on the NG2 business park, including a property development scheme in Cape Verde.
The pair were caught in March 2012 after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and Nottinghamshire Police.
Detective Inspector Andy Baguley said: “There are several hundred victims in this case who have not just suffered great financial loss, but in many cases they have been traumatised by the disruption and financial difficulties caused by the fraudulent activities of the defendants.”
After a hearing in October 2014, Clark, of Edwalton, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and two counts of forgery in July and October and also agreed to co-operate in the case against Clay.
Clay, who had moved to Derbyshire having previously lived in Bottesford, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud in December last year.
His Honour Judge Loraine-Smith said: “I have concluded two things, that you [Clay] will blame anyone else for what you have done and that you have shown not a shred of remorse for the damage you have caused to other people.”
Clay, the driving force behind the scheme, was given a serious crime prevention order, to last for five years and was banned from running a company for 15 years.
