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A ‘Ponzi’ scheme fraudster who conned thousands of investors out of £34m to fund his lavish lifestyle has been convicted.
Kevin Foster promised high returns on a number of gambling and network marketing schemes but instead used the cash to purchase a farm in Kent complete with swimming pool and Koi carp breeding facilities.
He also spent more than £700,000 on cars, purchased other properties and paid off some of his own debts with the money, collected over three years from 2001.
In one instance, Foster returned just £1,700 to investors who pumped in a total of about £12m to an overseas pyramid scheme.
The 51-year-old was found guilty on 9 March at Harrow Crown Court of unauthorised investment activity, of deliberately concealing facts from investors and of stealing investors' funds.
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) director Richard Alderman says: "This was a very complex investigation and the SFO was determined to bring justice for the many victims who lost their hard-earned savings to this Ponzi scheme."
The SFO says Foster began on a small scale in 2001, offering work colleagues a five-to-one return for a share in a football betting scheme. After honouring early payouts, participants continued to invest with Foster's ever-more elaborate investment schemes, which he collectively titled ‘KF Concepts' and, later, ‘Phase 9'.
He promoted KF at roadshows held across the country and, again after making early payouts, began receiving hefty amounts as investors told friends and family.
Even by this early stage, the SFO estimates Foster would have needed to generate more than £250m to meet the accumulating expectations.
The largest portion of funds was applied by the defendant to an illegal overseas pyramid selling scheme called ‘Planline', run purportedly by a Cayman Islands registered company called Infocus International, which had bank accounts in Switzerland.
Infocus claimed to be an internet-based art dealership, but the ‘art' people purchased were valueless copies of paintings or photographic prints. The SFO says up to £12m was paid into Planline, with only £1,703 being returned.
In January 2004, Kent Police and the FSA interviewed Foster and searched his home in Kent. The following month, KF Concept's activities were frozen and Foster declared bankrupt.
He was charged in 2007 and his trial began on 18 January this year. The case has been adjourned to 16 April for pre-sentence reports and psychiatric reports, with Foster remaining in custody until that date.
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Cameron Farley
This is the same as Cameron Farley in Edinburgh, when will they be brought to justice??
Posted by: Trevor Maclean
Daft as a Brush
I don't understand why someone who has conned £34m is still in the country! It's strange how the confidence that leads them to be able to con people generally ends up being the factor that gets them caught. But to Cameron Farley one can only say that fraudsters will always be with us - and may be more prevalent in a regulated environment because the regulation provides consumers with a greater sense of security, and reduces personal responsibility.
Posted by: Glen McKeown
Kevin Foster guilty on 14
To whom it may concern.I was a member of the K.F.Concept and lost money upon the intervention of the F.S.A. I am an adult and chose to trust Kevin Foster as opposed to having shares in Northern Rock.Shares can go up as well as down and Northern Rocks went of the ricter scale and all the time this company was being regulated by the F.S.A. My friend lost all her life savings she held shares in Northern Rock. I did not see any prosecution of any banking staff for the mismanagement of an old established building society that was. My point is this why prosecute an ex cabbie driver and not the banking fraternity one rule for one and another for another.I had never heard of the F.S.A until the freezing of all members money and Kevin Fosters assetts. We appointed a trustee and to date I have never had an update as to the state of play. (should any member have heard anything from the trustee please let me know. However you can be sure he has had his fat fee from the members money.)To be fair had any member heard of the F.S.A before the freezing order and I'm sure neither had Kevin Foster.I'm surprised that the F.S.A. showed an interest in a private members club and used their powers to destroy same. As a group of people we have been victimised all 8.500 members and as such should rally and stand together. Members you need to explore the possibility of the Europeans Courts and a solicitor who will represent us all on a no win no fee basis. The money was there and I'm sure Kevin Foster would have kept his promise. There had been no complaints prior to the freezing order.Together they stand divided they fall and that was the f.S.A.s intention to divide us all.
Posted by: bravegirl
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tarring with the brush?
But this guy isn't a Madoff. Madoff WAS authorised-this guy was not. And what does this story have to do with IFA's exactly?
Posted by: snooks