A fraudster who became infamous when he ran up a large bar bill has been sentenced to seven years in prison after stealing £2million of investors' money to fund his lavish champagne lifestyle.
Alex Hope – who once spent £200,000 on a single bar tab – was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court earlier in the month of defrauding investors of significant sums and operating a collective investment scheme without authorisation.
In total, over 100 investors entrusted Hope wdith more than £5.5million after he claimed he would make large returns from the profits of his forex trading. The scheme was closed down by the Financial Conduct Authority in April 2012.
Despite telling investors he would trade their money successfully, only 12 per cent of the total money handed to Hope was ever traded.
When he did trade, he lost almost all the money.
Hope used over £2 million of investors' money to fund his lifestyle. He spent over £1million in a casino, over £200,000 on designer watches and shoes, £60,000 on foreign travel, and over £600,000 in bars and nightclubs in London, Miami and New York.
Hope exaggerated his trading abilities and the returns he was making. He used doctored copies of statements from his trading account to mislead investors.
As a result of this deception, he continued to attract investors, with new money coming in used to pay those who wished to withdraw their funds.
As a result of the FCA's work, approximately half of the amount taken from investors was identified and frozen. Consideration of confiscation and other financial orders will take place at a later date, the watchdog said.
In sentencing Hope, Judge Taylor remarked on the sophistication of the scheme which involved the falsification of documents and the management of his persona. The Judge said Hope had 'shown no acceptance of [his] own dishonesty.'
Hope's co-defendant, Raj Von Badlo – also known as Raj Shastri - was sentenced to a total of two years' imprisonment for recklessly making false representations to investors and promoting a collective investment scheme without authorisation.
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