After last summer, the U.K. Financial ConductAuthority charged Phillip Boakes on six counts, including theft and six counts of fraud. The Southwark Crown Court sentenced him to 10 years in prison after the perpetrator admitted guilt on a total of six counts.

Boakes defrauded over 30 investors out of more than £3.5 million, after soliciting them to invest with his company CurrencyTrader Ltd. While he claimed to be managing a foreign exchange spread betting account and guaranteed investors at least 20% per annum, the perpetrator of the Ponzi scheme lost over £1 million in trading.

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The scheme has been running for over 10 years, as Boakes admitted to lying about the value of the funds his investors entrusted him with between October 2002 and January 2013. In addition, he and his family led a lavish lifestyle spending a total of £1.3 million throughout the years. Boakes spent £175,218 on cars and £213,659 on foreign holidays.

The range of losses incurred by individuals who invested in CurrencyTrader Ltd totaled between £10,000 and £700,000. The house of cards collapsed after the investors in the Ponzi scheme lost over £2.5 million.

The perpetrator admitted to being guilty on two counts of fraudulent trading, three counts of using false documentation and for not being authorized by the FCA to accept deposits.

His Honor Judge Lorraine-Smith said, “This was a classic Ponzi scheme over a number of years with a large number of victims. Lives have been changed and life savings have been lost. Boakes and his family lived a lavish lifestyle that he could not begin to afford but for his fraudulent activities.”

Boakes was sentenced to four years for the first count of fraudulent trading and six years for the second count to run consecutively.