Uptons Accountants... FSA wins £3.7M compensation on behalf of investors.

[YHB]

Source: FSA wins £3.7m compensation for investors in unauthorised scheme - New Model Adviser


The Financial Services Authority has won £3.7 million in compensation for investors in an unauthorised collective investment scheme run by Upton & Co Accountants.

The High Court has ruled that Upton pay the £3.7 million immediately, in addition to £840,000 in monthly installments of £10,000.

Wakefield-based Upton & Co has never been authorised by the FSA. It operated a collective investment scheme known as the Currency Plan promising investors high rates of return through investment in foreign exchange markets.

The FSA said the product only invested a limited amount into foreign exchange trading over its life span and very little was returned in cash to investors.

Margaret Cole (pictured), director of enforcement and financial crime, said: 'This is a fantastic result. It is so rare for victims of unauthorised businesses to get any money back because normally the money is misappropriated and victims of unauthorised firms are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

'But as we intervened early in the scheme’s life cycle we were able to recover a large proportion of the original amount invested. Normally the amount recovered - if any - is often just a few pence in the pound so securing this amount is a real coup.'

The FSA commenced its investigation into Upton, run by Darren Upton, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, in 2009. It realised the firm was carrying out unauthorised business and a month later, it secured a High Court injunction to stop the activity and freeze the firm’s assets.

Cole added: 'Operating a collective investment scheme is a serious business involving the management of a number of investments and requiring FSA authorisation. Upton had no business running one of these schemes and the firm risked millions of pounds of investors’ money - something you’d expect a firm of accountants to know better.'

[Newby]

oops

Darren, can you lend me a tenner?

[Darren@UptonAccountants]

Fsa

Darren, can you lend me a tenner?

All they're doing is repaying the funds that were previously frozen after I'd closed the scheme!! Some victory!! While I've been left to recover funds from an external party with no help from them! Frustrating!

Still....the accountancy practice is uneffected which is good news!

[Waldorf]

Darren you seem to be quite relaxed that investors in your scheme have lost £600,000 and will have to wait 7 years to get a good portion of their money.

BBC News - Investors gain

If nothing else it certainly questions your intelligence and professional judgement.

[Darren@UptonAccountants]

As with most press stories it does not give the full details. The process is not complete as yet with further amounts to be recovered from a third party.....far from being relaxed I've been pursuing this guy around the globe at my own expense and without ant assistance from the FSA. The whole episode has been a disaster but every effort is being made. The release also doesn't detail how the trading losses were incurred which will come out in due course once litigation is complete.

What I'm trying to get across is that this does not affect the day to day trading of the practice, we continue to trade as normal, just as have through the whole process ....if the FSA were inclined, could potentially have been closed down but have not in this case for a number of reasons.

[Wanderer]

As with most press stories it does not give the full details.

I must say that the BBC and Financial Times aren't exactly well known for their sensationalist and biased reporting so you are up against formidable opponents....

Then there is this quote from "Margaret Cole, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA":

Upton had no business running one of these schemes and the firm risked millions of pounds of investors' money - something you'd expect a firm of accountants to know better

Did they give you a right of reply? There doesn't seem to be much written in your defence. I guess that this forum isn't really the place to try and defend yourself though, we ain't exactly the BBC. Good luck with sorting it out.

[Darren@UptonAccountants]

FSA

Thanks Wanderer.....first got to hear of the release was mid afternoon yesterday through an email from the solicitors advising that a statement was due to be made. This was actually a few hours after Mrs Cole had actually made the release so didn't have a chance to reply or comment.

[Newby]

Sorry but

Darren, can you lend me a tenner?

Would you like to borrow a tenner?

[Darren@UptonAccountants]

Thanks

Would you like to borrow a tenner?

Thanks Newby, offer appreciated!

[YHB]

Darren, your replies thus far gives a 'not my fault' impression, no sympathy is shown for those who lost their money....

1) BBC say YOU devised this scheme and not some mystery 3rd party
2) The FSA did their job and protected consumers, your '3rd party' affairs is your business is it not?, the 3.7M was in your account?
3) £600k has been lost and will not be recovered, you had no legal right to run such a scheme... should you not reimburse them form a moral point of view?
4) The court has ruled against you, this makes you guilty- Im sure you had a decent legal team. So as it stands you ran an ILLEGAL scheme where you stood to gain a large amount of money- was this greed driven?
6) You keep saying the accountancy business is different, but it was from that brand that investors took confidence Im guessing? Do you not feel your lack of judgment/ethics etc all come into play
7) Why did you choose to fight this all the way to the high courts, why did you not give the money back immediately?