Bournemouth Trio Jailed for £70 Million Tree-Planting Pensions Fraud
A Bournemouth-based trio has been incarcerated for their roles in a sophisticated pension investment fraud that siphoned an estimated £70 million from unsuspecting individuals. Matthew Pickard, Stephen Greenaway, and Paul Laver were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for operating a fraudulent scheme disguised as environmentally conscious tree-planting investments.
The court heard how the men convinced victims to transfer their existing pensions into self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), which were then purportedly invested in highly speculative, illiquid tree-planting projects. These investments, marketed as lucrative and sustainable, were in reality designed to enrich the fraudsters through exorbitant fees and commissions, with little to no genuine return for the investors.
Matthew Pickard received a sentence of 13 years and six months. Stephen Greenaway was jailed for seven years, whilst Paul Laver received a six-year, eight-month sentence. The National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and the Pensions Regulator collaborated on the investigation, which uncovered a complex web of shell companies and misleading promotional materials used to entice investors. The case underscores the persistent vulnerability of pension funds to predatory schemes, often cloaked in seemingly legitimate or ethical guises.
