Convicted international property and land investment fraudster Stephen Allen has pleaded guilty to forgery

Today at Southwark Crown Court, Stephen Allen - part of a gang of international property and land investment con artists has pleaded guilty to forgery, following a criminal charge laid by the UK financial services regulator the Financial Conduct Authority. He will be sentenced on 24 September 2021.

The forgery charge relates to events that followed proceedings by the FCA against Mr Renwick Haddow for operating several unauthorised collective investment schemes, which culminated in a successful judgement against Mr Haddow and others in 2018. At the conclusion of these proceedings, Mr Haddow and others were ordered by the High Court to pay £16.9 million in restitution.

Amongst other assets, Mr Haddow had an interest in a property (13 Brook Mews, London W2 3BW) which should have been available to the FCA for part satisfaction of this restitution order. However, Mr Allen, forged a trust deed that hid Mr Haddow's interest in 13 Brook Mews, knowing it would be used to avoid the property being sold for the benefit of victims of the unauthorised collective investment schemes, the regulator said in a statement earlier today.

Through his guilty plea today, Mr Allen has admitted the forgery. The property has now been sold and proceeds have recently been distributed to affected investors. The High Court ruled Mr Haddow was the beneficial owner of the property, which has now been sold and the proceeds distributed to investors. 

Allen was previously one of four fraudsters that were jailed for up to seven years each for their part in a £35.8m land banking scam.

Daniel Webster, Stephen Allen and Steven Percival were found guilty of fraud, while Christopher Demetrious admitted the charge, at Southwark Crown Court in 2013. They defrauded more than 400 investors between 2005 and 2010, selling them what turned out to be worthless plots of land.

Click here to see the earlier related civil action taken by the FCA.

Renwick Haddow is in the USA awaiting sentence having pleaded guilty to a separate fraud prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.