Overview

• Between January 2020 and December 2023, John Burford raised more than £1 million from about 100 clients through an unlicensed subscription trading alert service
• Court filings reveal he traded only £760,000 of the investor funds, incurred substantial losses and misrepresented account values to subscribers
• Prosecutors told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Burford diverted remaining client money to buy a private home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
• The 85-year-old admitted fraud by false representation and carrying on regulated activities in the UK without Financial Conduct Authority authorization
• The Financial Conduct Authority has designated the case a priority enforcement matter as it prepares for sentencing at Southwark Crown Court