South Shields man convicted of stealing £2 million from victims in investment fraud scam

A financial advisor from South Shields has been convicted after he pocketed nearly £2 million from his victims as part of an investment fraud scam.

Stephen Rae pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud against 16 separate victims last week, dating between June 2014 and January 2016.

Rae followed a similar pattern of victims investing pensions, lump sums and savings with the 63-year-old but never seeing the return.

And his offending came to light in 2015 when two of his victims reported him to the police and Action Fraud respectively.

The women had both sent him substantial six-figure sums under the impression he would invest the cash into various schemes and repay them with significant interest.

However, both women reported him to the authorities when their sums failed to materialise and Rae began ignoring their calls and correspondence.

The case was referred to Northumbria Police by Action Fraud, and specialist officers launched a thorough investigation. This began with a warrant, executed at Rae’s address in South Shields.

During their searches, officers noted a luxury car at the address including an Aston Martin Vanquish, and they also seized his laptop and devices.

When examined, Rae’s laptop was found to have financial records belonging to 113 clients and his banking records showed that approximately £2.8 million had been invested with him.

Officers approached all clients to establish if there were any further victims – and were contacted by 14 individuals, all reporting substantial losses and a similar pattern of behaviour to the first two victims.

When Rae was brought in for questioning in January 2018, he refused to comment in interview, and would not assist with enquiries.

But, thanks to the persistence of the Force’s financial investigators and fraud officers, he was later charged with a total of 16 offences.

And on Tuesday, Rae, of King George Road in South Shields, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud. He has since been released on bail and will be sentenced on September 8.

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Speaking after the sentencing, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Constable Craig Tomlinson, said: “This is exactly the result we wanted for our victims, it’s just a shame it has taken Rae so long to admit what he’s done.

“I hope the sentence he is given will reflect the devastating impact his greed has had on his victims, some of whom have lost their full pension pot and life savings.

“Fraud can ruin lives. Victims not only lose their savings and the futures they dream of, but many are often deeply affected by the betrayal and breach of trust and confidence they have suffered.

“This has been a long and complex case and I would like to praise the victims who came forward for their help and support and I hope this conviction offers them a sense of closure.

“For anyone who thinks they can abuse the law and a position of trust like this, think again. As a Force, we will not tolerate criminality like this and will do all we can to bring offenders before the courts.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the officers and staff from Northumbria Police, Durham Constabulary, Action Fraud and our colleagues at the Crown Prosecution Service for their hard work and dedication.”

Det Con Tomlinson added: “If you plan on investing, please do your research and make sure that any advisor or company you plan on using is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and their contact details match up. If the website, number and address don’t match, don’t invest. You can also check the FCA warning list of firms to avoid and seek impartial advice. We’d also advise people are also cautious when parting with large sums of money. And if you suspect foul play, report to Action Fraud immediately.”