Devon financial adviser Mark Anthony Jensen has been banned by the FCA after he was found guilty of £1.2m worth of fraud and jailed for more than five years.

He splashed part of the cash he stole on foreign holidays to Egypt and Thailand, to repay debts, spread-betting and motorcycle trips.

According to newspaper reports of his trial, he tricked elderly and sometimes dying clients, with one of his victims being his own elderly aunt.

The reports said he worked for Prudential as a financial adviser before he became self-employed and set up his own company.

The prosecutor at the trial said that the fraud only came to light when two elderly sisters who entrusted their investments with him became suspicious because he could provide no paperwork. They contacted the companies Prudential and Zurich directly and found that the policies did not exist.

Mr Jensen pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud by false representation and was sentenced to five years and four months at Plymouth Crown Court in 2021, although he received a one third reduction to his sentence as credit for his early guilty plea.

The victims of his criminal activities, between February 2009 and July 2019, were mainly clients of regulated firms but he continued to defraud people even after leaving the firms.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge said Mr Jensen was part of a network providing financial advice. His contract was terminated in 2010 but he continued to provide advice to consumers after this.

Five out of the seven offences were committed between 28 February 2009 and 16 December 2010 when Mr Jensen was approved to perform the controlled function of CF30 (Customer) at an authorised firm.

According to the FCA’s Register, Mr Jensen worked for Swindon-based Openwork Ltd from June 2005 until December 2010, being a CF30 Customer (a customer-dealing role) from 2007 to 2010.

Until 2 June 2009, Mr Jensen was also employed at another appointed representative and was a CF1 Director (AR). According to the FCA’s Register Mr Jensen worked for Exeter-based Blue Star Associates Ltd from February 2005 until it ceased to be authorised as an Appointed Representative in June 2009.

Once he left these roles, he continued to use the position of trust and contacts he had established to defraud people and committed two further offences, the FCA said.

His victims lost an estimated £1.2m with Mr Jensen using the cash to pay debts and living expenses, as well as betting, exotic holidays and motorcycle trips.

The judge said Mr Jensen had taken advantage of vulnerable people who trusted him, that everything he did was false and that he took advantage of the victims in a despicable way. He said that Mr Jensen abused multiple positions of trust, sustained over a significant period of time and that there were a large number of victims.

He added that the offences for which Mr Jensen was convicted amounted to a gross breach of trust as a professional adviser, as a friend and as a family member.

The FCA said: “The facts and nature of Mr Jensen's offences, in particular his having been convicted of serious fraud, shows he lacks honesty and integrity. As a result, the Authority considers that Mr Jensen is not a fit and proper person to perform regulated activities.”

According to the FCA’s Register, Mr Jensen worked for a number of different firms in the West Country, as well as Openwork Ltd and Blue Star Associates Ltd.

Between December 2001 and May 2005 he was a CF7 Sole Trader (AR) and CF21 Investment Adviser at Swindon-based Zurich Advice Network Ltd. Between December 2001 and December 2010 he also worked at Exeter-based appointed representative Tetiana Jensen, which lost its authorisation in August 2016.