A serial fraudster who scammed more than 40 victims to fund his luxury lifestyle and Lamborghini Aventador has been jailed. Jonathan Allard, 39, played a key role in the £4 million investment scam before he was arrested at a London airport in November 2016 following an investigation.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Economic Crime Team searched his West London home and seized items including 13 luxury watches and jewellery worth in the region of £340,000. They also discovered instructions to investment sales staff and draft correspondence to be sent out to victims of the scam.
The investigation began in 2016 with officers conducting enquiries in Hong Kong and Dubai, with numerous victims contacted along with hours of work analysing bank accounts and following the money trail.
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Many of the 43 victims had been promised investment returns in the region of 9-12% in an extremely complicated scam involving an official business being set up in Canary Wharf called Zurich Private Capital (ZPC).
They offered attractive returns in commodities which included oil and soya beans with victims persuaded to invest through cold-calling and by other sophisticated marketing material. Some victims felt they were pushed into investing while others felt reassured by the apparent legitimacy of the company.
Many were told to keep their money invested for a minimum of three years to ensure the best possible return. However, some victims became suspicious when they attempted to withdraw their money, with many having their emails and phone calls ignored. Several have lost a substantial amount of money, ranging from £10,000 to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The impact upon them has been severe, with one victim attempting suicide while others have since died. Others have health conditions caused by the stress or have to remain in work until they are nearly 80 years old.
Meanwhile, Allard benefited from the fraud and lived an extravagant lifestyle in a rented Knightsbridge paying £6,500 per month. He called himself ‘Lord’ Allard and spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on cars and watches.
After being charged in 2021 via postal requisition, he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and has now been jailed for seven years and two months.
PC Will Evans, from the Met’s Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, said: “The impact of this crime on the victims is absolutely shocking. Allard masterminded a sophisticated and convincing investment fraud to take advantage of vulnerable victims on a large scale. The money was used to fund a lavish and extravagant lifestyle, showing complete contempt for the victims.
“The Met will now utilise the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover any and all assets held worldwide.”
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