Two men have been jailed for a combined 12 years for defrauding investors out of more than £1.5m in a crypto investment scam, following a successful prosecution by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Between February 2017 and June 2019, Raymondip Bedi, 35, and Patrick Mavanga, 40, cold-called victims to sell fake investments in cryptocurrency.
Operating through companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP, the pair defrauded at least 65 investors of £1,541,799.
On Friday 4 July, Bedi was sentenced to five years and four months in prison, while Mavanga received a sentence of six years and six months at Southwark Crown Court.
Confiscation proceedings are ongoing in an effort to recover criminal gains.
In his sentencing remarks, His Honour Judge Griffiths said both defendants were “leading players in a conspiracy whereby the victims of the fraud were persuaded to invest in cryptocurrency consultancy”, adding that they “conspired to drive a coach and horses through the regulatory system”.
Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Bedi and Mavanga ruthlessly defrauded dozens of innocent victims, and it is right that they have received these prison sentences. Criminals need to be clear that there is a cost to committing crime, and we will seek to make them pay.”
The FCA said it will continue to pursue cases involving fraudulent investment schemes and protect consumers from harm.
