Gravesend Crook Slapped with £73k Payback in City Bond Scam
Investment Scam Cheats Ten Victims Out of Thousands
Lee Barnett, 36, from Gravesend, has been ordered to cough up nearly £73,000 after duping ten people in a tangled investment scam. Between 2014 and 2017, Barnett and partner-in-crime Ashley Hunte, 41, ran Britannia Direct Solutions (BDS), promising safe investments in a London City Bond (LCB) account. But the cash never went where it was supposed to.
Fake Investments, Real Losses
kent-police/" title="Kent Police" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">Kent Police launched a deep dive investigation, tracing bank accounts and financial records. It turned out many “investments” were never made. When they were, the values didn’t match victim payments. The pair’s scheme was a costly con.
Justice Served: Jail Time and Cash Repayment
- Both Barnett and Hunte got 18 months in prison for fraud and money laundering on April 25, 2022.
- On December 21, 2022, Barnett was hit with a £72,982 repayment order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
- Hunte has no assets, so no cash was recovered—but the court may revisit his case if that changes.
- Victims will get a slice of the pie from any recovered funds.
- If Barnett doesn’t pay up within three months, he faces another 18 months behind bars.
“For their own greed and financial gain, Barnett and Hunte knowingly defrauded their victims of large sums of money,” said Detective Inspector Dave Godfrey of Kent Police’s Economic Crime Unit. “We are pleased that the victims will be compensated for their losses, and that this case serves as a stark reminder to criminals that crime does not pay.”
The Proceeds of Crime Act is a powerful tool stopping crooks from using dirty money for more illegal activity, says the FBI.
