Three men have confessed to running a £70 million tree planting scam that exploited changes allowing people early access to their pensions.
Matthew Pickard, Stephen Greenaway, and Paul Laver all pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading in relation to Ethical Forestry Limited, based in Bournemouth.
The now-defunct business would cold-call people, offering them the opportunity to review their pensions and advising them to withdraw money from their employer’s schemes and invest it in tree plantations in Costa Rica.
However, investigators said the trio had no plans to look after or plant any timber.
Jason Williams, who led the team at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said: “Whether these three individuals started the business as a fraud, or it just developed, we will never know.”
Pension liberation fraud schemes offer people early access to their money and transfer the pension pot to a scheme set up by fraudsters.
The SFO said several hundred employees would contact people from Ethical Forestry’s call centre in Bournemouth.
Those who proceeded with the company would not receive independent advice but entered what investigators described as “a closed loop”.
Ethical Forestry Limited operated from this building in Bournemouth
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The advice provider was hired by Pickard, Greenaway, and Laver and received a commission for each referral they made to Ethical Forestry.
“In effect, once the member of the public had been convinced, out of the blue, to have a pension review, they were always going to be referred back to Ethical Forestry,” explained Jason Williams.
Some 3,000 people fell victim to the scam, with the SFO saying in 2012 it was clear the scheme would never pay back investors or return their cash.
Instead of closing Ethical Forestry, the directors raised more money and created a so-called “Ponzi” scheme, using incoming cash to make small payments to existing investors.
Some 3,000 people fell victim to the tree plantation scam
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A significant chunk went to the directors, with Pickard, Greenway and Laver all “withdrawing £15million”, according to Mr Williams.
The investigator said: “Certainly, some have had very lavish lifestyles, with luxury houses in Sandbanks.
“One defendant had a number of supercars that he went through, but there was very little to show for the money that had been taken by the time we got there.”
The SFO described their investigation as one of the largest and most complex.
The trio had no interest in any tree plantation
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Watchdogs have run several advertisements, warning people of the risks involved.
The Pensions Regulator stated that its threat assessment showed an ongoing decrease in reports of pension liberation fraud.
One of the victims from the Ethical Forestery scheme said it is “tragic” that she and the other 3,000 find themselves in this situation.
The victim said: “It’s a shame, so tragic, and I’m so cross. But I’m very glad that they’ve been brought to justice.”