A financial adviser who defrauded people he knew, his clients, and a charity out of nearly £2m was sentenced to 11 years in prison at Worcester Crown Court last Friday.
Timothy ‘Paul’ Barnes, 68, of Droitwich, had earlier pleaded guilty to 39 charges.
They included 34 counts of fraud by false representation, three counts of make/supply article for use in fraud and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
According to the FCA Register Mr Barnes worked for a number of IFA firms from 2001. In that year he was an investment adviser at Sesame Select Services and remained with Sesame Limited until December 2013.
From 2003 he was working at Halcyon IFAs, remaining with the firm until 2021. After a year with Financial Limited in 2014 he became an appointed representative for Sanlam Partnership in 2015, remaining with the firm until 2021 and also working as an AR for the Tavistock Partnership in 2017.
In 2021 he joined True Potential Wealth Management remaining in a client-facing role until May 2023.
In November 2022 Mr Barnes approached people he knew to ask for a short-term loan under the pretence he needed the money to pay for either an inheritance payment or a divorce payment. On each occasion he promised to repay the loan within a few days which he would confirm in writing by email or a signed document.
He then moved onto approach his clients, using his knowledge as their financial adviser of their wealth, to secure loans.
He also created false documents, again to obtain further funds, eventually defrauding 34 people and securing £1,754,736.68 in “loans”.
Mr Barnes was also the chair of a well-known charitable trust and had access to the accounts. He duped the trustees into believing £206,500 would be used for the charity but instead paid the money into his own account.
In addition to this, he also took money from a residents’ association in an estate where he was living and transferred £1,245 into his own account. By the end of May 2023, Barnes had stolen approximately £1,962,481.68, from a total of 36 victims.
Following extensive enquiries, police officers discovered that Barnes had been investing the money he had stolen into his crypto wallet. Barnes was arrested on 19 December 2023 on suspicion of fraud and money laundering offences.
Detective Sergeant Bev Hamilton, from West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “I welcome the custodial sentence handed to Barnes who abused his position of trust as a financial adviser, charitable trust chair and a neighbour and friend to many.
“Over an 18-month period, Barnes had stolen nearly £2m from a total of 36 individuals and organisations alike, causing significant harm across both his personal and professional circles.
“The actions of criminals like Barnes can have a big impact on lives, businesses, and communities of those they prey upon.”