The Financial Conduct Authority has slapped a lifetime ban on a financial adviser after his conviction for defrauding clients out of more than £160,000.
Michael Bains, an appointed representative of Bright Future IFA, ran up £100,000 in gambling debts and regularly spent thousands of pounds visiting escorts, according to Yorkshire Police.
Bains defrauded clients out of £160,500 between April 2009 and March 2012.
His victims included a 58-year old woman from Hertfordshire who lost her life savings of £100,000, which she intended to use to buy the rented property she was living in.
He was listed as being an AR of Bright Future IFA Ltd until June 2012 and held the CF30 function in relation to City House Investors Ltd, Investors Ltd and Financial Ltd.
Bright Future suspended him as soon as it was alerted to the fraud.
Bains pleaded guilty at Yorkshire Crown Court to six counts of fraud in July 2013, and was subsequently sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
He has now been banned from conducting any regulated activities for life.
The North Yorkshire Police said he had run up gambling debts of over £100,000 over a “considerable period”.
Bains borrowed money from friends and family before raising funds from clients by persuading them to invest in private deals for non-existent property development and investment schemes.
The police said Bains had used the money to repay other investors, fund his gambling habit and visit the female escorts he met on internet sites.
When confronted with the evidence, Bains admitted he had lost over £100,000 through gambling. It later emerged that he had visited different escorts on at least 49 occasions, spending around £150 each time.
Detective Sergeant Edwards from the financial investigation unit, said: “Bains has used his position to convince people who trusted him to invest their life savings wisely.
"He has cynically used their hard-earned cash to indulge his obsession for gambling and escorts - there was no investment scheme - only other victims to repay.
“He has now declared himself bankrupt so there is little chance the victims of the fraud will receive any compensation.
“I would advise anyone who is offered returns above the market rate to consider very carefully before investing, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
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