A Birds Bakery family member has been jailed for co-running a £9million investment scam which drained £100,000 out of a couple’s life savings.
Andrew Bird, 60, and Christopher Walton, 67, took huge sums from victims who they duped into investing hundreds of thousands of pounds from 2010 to 2016, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
The pair convinced friends and family, many elderly and vulnerable, of the returns they could expect and lied to them about the level of risk the investments could see – playing on the fact that Bird had never lost money trading.
In reality, the money was never put into the investments and was used to pay back other investors to keep their scam running.
One of the victims, who lost his and his wife’s £100,000 life savings in the scam, said in a statement: ‘Andrew Bird and Chris Walton ruined our lives and I sincerely hope they will be made to suffer for their actions.’
Andrew Bird, 60, of Church Road, Quarndon, was sent to prison for eight years for a £9million investment scam which drained £100,000 out of a couple’s life savings
Walton, a 67-year-old father-of-three, of Church Street, Kilburn, was jailed for five years
Jailing the pair for a combined total of 13 years, Judge Michael Auty KC said: ‘Mr Bird, you developed both an interest and a reputation for turning a profit on the financial market and you expressed pride to both the police and the jury of your ability.
‘You deluded yourself more than anyone else and this led to tragic and enduring consequences for a great number of hard working and decent people.
‘The money was simply recycled, those investors believed in the magic. They were seduced into believing this was all plausible.
‘There is a saying that goes ‘If something seems too good to be true it almost certainly is’ and so it was for you and this scheme.
‘The money was not yours to gamble with and while I accept there’s an element of remorse and that you never intended to hurt or impoverish anyone, I can’t lose sight that your actions caused devastation and lifelong misery (to the victims).’
A near nine-week trial earlier this year heard how the fraudsters met at Horsley Lodge Golf Club in 2005 when Bird was running the Anglo American Equities company.
Walton, a former bank manager, had heard of Bird’s reported success in trading and investment and the two then joined forces.
For six years they claimed to be investing the money on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) but in reality, a significant amount of the money was never invested at all.
Once investors had given them their money, they received documents designed to persuade them that their investment was doing well and encourage them to invest further.
However, the documentation was falsified and the majority of the money that Bird and Walton took from people was not used to trade at all, but to pay other investors back and fund quarterly ‘returns’ payments in what is known as a Ponzi fraud.
The scheme collapsed in August 2016 after running out of new cash, with Bird and Walton having collected almost £9 million.
A Derbyshire police spokesman said: ‘The investors knew and trusted the men, with some investing their life savings or pension funds into the schemes. Some even sold their homes so they had the money to invest in the fund, with many of the victims being elderly or vulnerable.
‘The matter came to light after the victims were told that all of their money had been lost.’
Andrew Haslam KC read out a number of victim impact statements made by investors who lost cash.
Bird and Walton took huge sums from victims who they duped into investing hundreds of thousands of pounds from 2010 to 2016, Nottingham Crown Court (pictured) heard
One of them said: ‘I was extremely upset when I found out the whole thing was a scam. The money was for my grandchildren and I can’t give them anything now.’
Another said: ‘When I went out socially with Andrew and Chris I told them my father was terminally-ill and they encouraged me to continue to invest.’
A third added : ‘The investment was to help with my impending retirement (and) It upsets me as some of my relatives and friends had invested and this has changed their lives dramatically. So many other victims that I know have struggled to get by. We all put our faith in Chris, Andrew and the company.’
Bird and Walton were arrested and subsequently charged with fraud by false representation and carrying out a regulated activity whilst not authorised.
The pair were convicted of the offences in May following a trial at Nottingham Crown Court. Neither of them have any previous convictions of any kind.
Bird, of Church Road, Quarndon, was sent to prison for eight years.
Richard Atkins KC, mitigating, said: ‘This was not a cynical fraud from the outset, there were moments when he thought he could turn this around. The sad reality is that this man really thought he could do it. He poses a low risk of reoffending and he is unlikely to be before the courts again.
‘He is a man who lives a sad, solitary and lonely life.’
Walton, a father-of-three, of Church Street, Kilburn, was jailed for five years.
James Horne KC, his barrister, said: ‘He is a picture of a devoted family man. He was hard-working and was the treasurer of the local PTA (parent and teachers association).’
The fraudsters met at Horsley Lodge Golf Club in 2005 (pictured) when Bird was running the Anglo American Equities company
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Sergeant Richard Foster, of Derbyshire Police, said: ‘Bird and Walton took huge sums of money from people under false pretenses knowing that they would not see the return on their investment despite their promises.
‘Many of the people they targeted were elderly or vulnerable and some lost their entire life savings or pension pots. As well as leaving them utterly devastated and out of pocket the emotional and mental impact this had on these victims cannot be underestimated.
‘This was a long-running despicable and callous scheme operated by these two men which has ruined the lives of many families across Derbyshire.
‘Bird was well-known as having success in terms of trading and Walton had previously been in a position of trust as a former bank manager so the victims had no reason to believe that anything they were being told was untrue – particularly when the information was coming from someone they knew well or were related to.
‘I would like to praise the victims and their families in this case and thank them for their patience and co-operation through what has been a very lengthy process. With their help these two men have now been brought to justice for their appalling crimes and will be spending many years behind bars.
‘While the prison sentence will not bring back the tens of thousands of pounds these people lost, we are now working towards a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) case to recover the money Bird and Walton made.’
That POCA hearing will take place on December 6, the sentencing hearing was told.
