A corrupt stockbroker who ran an investment scam promising huge returns from a gold mine in Ecuador is facing jail.
More than 300 investors sank over £5mn into the project over an 18 month period, Southwark Crown Court has heard.
Stephen Todd, 41, masterminded the swindle through a company called IPR Capital Ltd which sold partnerships in a gold mining company in Ecuador as investments.
Todd and financial analyst Steven Mayne, 42, admitted conspiracy to defraud, while David Williams, 41, and John Andrews, 54, admitted converting criminal property.
Walton Hornsby, prosecuting, said the case concerned a "fraudulent investment scheme involving a gold mine in Ecuador".
He said 344 investors ploughed £5.4mn into the project, between May 2013 and January 2015 and "practically all of this was lost.
"Stephen Todd and Steven Mayne were the creators of the scheme and its principal beneficiaries.
"John Andrews and David Williams joined later. Whether from its inception, or later, they were all knowing participants in a fraudulent enterprise."
Hornsby said some of the investors were subject to "coercion and intimidation" during the scam.
Todd was disqualified from being a company director for 10 years in 2017 for unfit conduct while running a series of disreputable firms in the City, including White Square Investments and Hamilton Bentley.
He was jailed for seven years for "carrying on a business with intent to defraud creditors" at Croydon Crown Court in 2018.
A year later, he received a consecutive sentence of 12 months imprisonment for a scam involving The Commodities Link Limited, which offered investments in rare earth metals.
Mayne, had no previous convictions, and had published articles in the financial press as well making TV appearances.
He worked in the City as a regulated broker and had his own firm called EGR Broking Ltd, which has ceased trading.
Andrews was a former NCO in the British Army who has also admitted dealing in a "large quantity of MDMA".
He was described as "a close friend and business acquaintance to Stephen Todd for more than eight years".
But Mayne’s lawyer, Roderick Johnson, KC, said: "Mr Mayne and his partner had a young daughter in May. He is not the same man he was 10 years ago when this happened.
"He is ashamed to have been involved in a matter that caused fraudulent activity to so many people.
"He now teaches special needs children. The very fact of a conviction may make that work difficult to continue, but he will never go back to the Square Mile city life he had before.
"He went into this with good intentions. He was offered the opportunity to come in and do research and marketing.
"From then on he was under the direction of Mr Todd, whose venture this really was, he was his boss, Mr Mayne was an employee in the circumstances talked about".
The lawyer continued: "Mr Mayne is desperate to get on with his life as a father and respectable member of society. He will never go back to financial world and he will never, regardless of today, appear before a court again.
"He was under intimidation and he did try to keep the project alive so investors would have returns - it was all of course too little too late."
Jason Sugarman, KC, for Andrews said his client has been on remand serving time for his MDMA offence.
He said: "He has been in custody for another offence. He has served extra time because of this case because he has not been eligible for early release, and he has suffered from the delays of covid and this case hanging around.
"He has a child he hasn’t seen since his third birthday, who is six in early March."
The four defendants all pleaded guilty on the eve of a long trial sparing the jury of having to sit through a four-month trial.
Judge Gregory Perrins told jurors: "This case involved an allegation of fraud and was going to be a very large fraud trial.
"Over the last two or three days, one by one, each of four defendants has taken the decision to change plea from not guilty to guilty.
"Why wasn’t that done sooner? That’s a perfectly valid question. We do try to avoid this sort of situation, but it sometimes happens in this court."
Todd, of London and Mayne, also from London, admitted conspiracy to defraud.
Williams, of Kent, admitted converting criminal property between 19 May 2014 and 3 February 2015, namely £60,553, knowing or suspecting it to constitute or represent in whole or in part a person’s benefit from criminal conduct.
Andrews, of, Kent, admitted converting criminal property between June 14 and 30 2014, namely £60,000, knowing it to constitute and hold at least in part proceeds from criminal conduct.
They will be sentenced on 3 and 4 November.
Jack Hudson is reporting from Southwark Crown Court
