Adviser is jailed in £300k fraud case
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A financial adviser in Scotland has been jailed for two and a half years after defrauding his clients out of almost £300,000.
Alexander Milne, 55, who ran Norland Financial in Banff, had admitted embezzlement charges when he appeared before Peterhead Sheriff Court in July.
At a sentencing hearing before the same court in December, more detail was given as to how he defrauded 21 clients, including friends and relatives of Milne. Passing sentence Sheriff James Hendry said: “What concerns me is that this embezzlement took place over almost four years. It is now clear to me that, during this period, you took sums of money knowing that your business had failed. You robbed Peter to pay Paul.
“This matter is a tragedy both for you and your family but more so for the many investors, friends and relatives that invested in your scheme.”
Prosecutor Anne Macdonald told the court that a number of those defrauded would not be eligible for compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
She said compensation would only go to those who had inv- ested in Norland Financial Ser- vices and not those who had invested through Milne as a sole trader.
Another mortgage broker named Alex J Milne from Inverurie also in North-east Scotland, has contacted media to ask them to make it clear that it is not him that has been jailed.
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Readers' comments (3)
Paul Gibson | 7 Jan 2010 1:49 pm
Made the press!
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Anonymous | 7 Jan 2010 1:56 pm
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - where was the FSA when all this was happening - 4 years for goodness sakes - did they not do any checking on this business during this period? They have severely neglected their duty to protect consumers, so when is the FSA going to get fined for failure to supervise??
Disgusting.
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Steve B | 7 Jan 2010 2:24 pm
Con men who defraud friends and family are the worst sort of all.
I am surprised that he managed to carry on for over 4 years and more information in the article about how whether he was selling bogus investments or just charging fees whilst no longer trading would be useful.
The message is simple, to all other would be con men and rogues left in the industry, dont bother trying to rip people off, or go to jail
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