Adviser jailed over £1.8m swindle
A FINANCIAL adviser who swindled clients out of £1.8m to fund a 'lavish lifestyle' is starting a six-year jail term.
Michael Hart, 39, stole money by putting cheques paid to Abbey National into his personal account when he worked for advisers Lucas Fettes & Partners in Norwich.
The fraud involved more than 20 clients over a 12-year period.
Prosecutor Andrew Baxter said the bulk of the cheques were paid to Abbey National by investors and then paid into Hart's personal account at Abbey National branches.
Norwich Crown Court Judge Peter Jacobs was told that Hart had also used the Leeds & Holbeck and the Norwich & Peterborough during his swindle.
The crime highlighted a glaring industry loophole in banks' procedures.
Martin Helm, 56, a public relations consultant who lives in central London and was swindled out of £28,000 by Hart said Abbey‘s failure to prevent the fraud was 'scandalous'.
He said: 'This was so simple as to be unbelievable. I gave Michael Hart a cheque to buy an Isa made payable to Abbey National because they were supplying the Isa.
'He took it to an Abbey National branch and paid it into his own personal account and was allowed to do so by Abbey National.'
He said it was outrageous for Abbey not to accept responsibility for the practice and claimed 'ordinary people' are unaware of the lack of regulation.
Abbey defended the practice. In a statement, it said: 'There were cheques written out by investors made payable to Abbey and which were credited to Mr Hart's account.
'The procedure was and remains an acceptable and widespread industry practice.
'However Abbey is due to implement a change to the procedures in the New Year to no longer accept cheques made payable to Abbey into personal accounts if the signature on the cheque differs from that of the person paying it in.'
Helm's concerns were echoed by Judge Jacobs and Hart's counsel, Michael Clare.
The judge told the court: 'In all of the 30 years I have been sitting in these courts the lack of regulation exercised by banks and financial regulatory authorities never ceases to amaze me.'
