The FCA has secured a confiscation order of £452,286.80 against convicted fraudster Daniel Pugh, who is serving a seven years and six months jail sentence for defrauding investors out of £1.3m.
Mr Pugh, 36, was jailed last October for running the Ponzi investment scheme.
Run from his bedroom in Devon, Mr Pugh used Facebook adverts to target investors and promised them wholly unrealistic returns, claiming the huge returns would be generated by trading across various markets.
Investors were offered “impossibly high” returns of 1.4% a day, 7% a week or 350% a year.
Less than a fifth, 19%, of the funds collected from investors were traded and the scheme was, in effect, a Ponzi scheme, which was run with another individual, the regulator said.
Mr Pugh received £96,000 from the scheme and used the money to support his lifestyle, including designer clothes, restaurants and withdrawing £18,000 in cash.
At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 5 June, Mr Pugh was ordered to pay £452,286.80. That represents the total value of the assets the court found available for recovery. The funds will be used to compensate the victims of his crimes.
According to the FCA he conned 234 people.
The FCA said it has carried out extensive inquiries to identify all victims who are eligible for compensation. It has now made a final call for any remaining victims to come forward. If anyone believes they are a victim of Daniel Pugh’s illegal activities and has not been in contact already, they should contact the FCA with details of their dealings with Mr Pugh by 30 June by emailing
The FCA has also urged victims that have already been in touch, and confirmed they have lost money, to reach out to finalise their details.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Fighting financial crime is a key priority for the FCA and our message to fraudsters like Pugh is loud and clear. We’ll do everything in our power to seize the profits from their crimes.”
If Mr Pugh does not pay the confiscation order within three months, he faces a default prison sentence of four years and nine months.
The confiscation proceedings form part of the FCA’s ongoing work to recover funds for victims of fraudulent investment schemes.