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Investment manager convicted over $121 Cayman fund – Reuters

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2 years ago

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REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won (SOUTH KOREA – Tags: BUSINESS)

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – An investment manager of a collapsed 100-million-pound ($121 million) Cayman Islands-based legal financing fund was on Wednesday convicted by a London jury of fraudulent trading, fraud by abuse of position and money laundering.

Timothy Schools, a 61-year-old former lawyer who founded Axiom Legal Financing Fund in 2009 to provide loans to law firms pursuing no-win-no fee lawsuits, siphoned off nearly 20 million pounds of investor money to buy luxury properties and cars, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in a statement.

His lawyer, David Hanman of Cobleys Solicitors, said he would not be commenting ahead of his sentencing on Thursday.

The jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court failed to reach a verdict for a second defendant, former independent financial adviser David Kennedy. The SFO has 21 days to decide whether to call a retrial. His lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

A third co-defendant, former lawyer Richard Emmett, was acquitted.

“It’s unbelievably horrible to have your reputation called into question,” Emmett said in a statement. “I now wish to get on with my life and career, which this unfounded prosecution by the SFO has placed on pause.”

The Axiom fund was an unregulated collective investment scheme that secured more than 100 million pounds from around 500 investors, who were told a panel of quality law firms would use their funds to back legal cases with a high chance of success.

But tens of millions of pounds were paid to three law firms that Schools either owned or held an interest in, the SFO said.

He diverted more than 19.6 million pounds ($23.76 million) into offshore bank accounts, buying shares in a ski hotel in France and a 5-million-pound fishing and shooting estate in Britain, it said in the statement.

The lawsuits funded by Axiom, meanwhile, were often lost at court and insurance policies failed to cover losses.

Schools covered up the failures by arranging for the repayments of old loans with new Axiom loans, the SFO said.

($1 = 0.8249 pounds)

Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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5 days ago

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October 16, 2024

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Economy

S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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1 week ago

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October 11, 2024

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite little changed in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets down

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2 weeks ago

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October 10, 2024

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.

The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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