The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged Kristofer McGuire, Keith Williamson and Karla Walker for their alleged roles in a high-risk contracts for difference (CFD) trading scheme.
FCA Charges Three Individuals With CFD Fraud
These three individuals face several charges, including fraud through deceptive representations and trading, as they convinced people to invest their pension savings in CFDs. In its press statement, the FCA explained that CFDs are “a high-risk investment product used to bet on the price of an asset”.
Victims of this alleged fraud reportedly said that the accused influenced them to use their pension funds for these investments. The UK’s financial watchdog indicated that McGuire, Williamson and Walker allegedly generated large commissions for themselves with CFD trading while losing almost all of their victims’ money.
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The FCA also claims that these individuals deceived trading platforms by claiming that their clients were experienced investors. It is estimated that the victims lost more than £8m. The regulator’s charges against McGuire, Williamson and Walker include fraudulent trading. In its media statement, the FCA stated:
Between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2017 Kristofer McGuire, Keith Williamson and Karla Walker made untrue and misleading representations to a CFD trading platform that clients met the qualifying criteria for professional investors when in reality, they did not.
McGuire also faces an additional five charges of fraud through deceptive representation. The FCA has reached out to other possible victims, inviting them to contact the authority. The accused will appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 June 2024.
