The High Court has ruled in favour of the FCA against the director of a company which ran an illegal care home unauthorised collective investment scheme (UCIS).

The Ponzi-style scheme took £57m from 380 investors between 2016 and 2020.

The FCA’s action is also against the main sales agent for the scheme, Fortem Global Limited, which was owned by Robin Forster and Richard Tasker.

Robin Foster’s Qualia Care Properties and Qualia Care Developments Ltd offered investments in care homes run by a third company, Qualia Care Limited.

All three companies are in administration and Fortem Global is in liquidation.

Investors purchased a long-term lease in a room in a care home, and then sub-let the room back to the Qualia companies.

Investors were promised returns of between 8% and 10% of the purchase price over the period of the sublease.

The leases cost between £50,000 and £75,000.

The FCA has asked the High Court to determine the sums that the defendants should be required to pay back to investors.

Following an earlier High Court trial in May, the court agreed with the FCA that the scheme was unlawful and amounted to an Unauthorised Collective Investment Scheme.

The court also agreed that the returns promised to investors were never likely to be achievable and that Mr Forster had made false and misleading statements to investors about the sustainability of the scheme.

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Mr Forster didn’t just put investors’ funds at risk by selling investments in an unauthorised scheme that was not sustainable, he also put at risk the wellbeing of residents of the care homes, many of whom were vulnerable.

"I would like to thank the Care Quality Commission for their assistance during our investigation and their work ensuring the residents of these care homes continued to receive the care they need.

“The Qualia scheme offered unrealistic returns based on its unsustainable business model and operated like a Ponzi scheme. Mr Forster’s reckless behaviour put investors at serious risk, and we will now seek compensation for them.”

Prior to the Qualia scheme, Mr Forster was involved with MBI companies which operated a very similar investment scheme to Qualia.

The FCA has issued a claim in the High Court arguing that the MBI scheme was also a Collective Investment Scheme which was being operated without FCA authorisation. The FCA said it will seek a similar Restitution Order in relation to the MBI scheme.