Two individuals running a fake investment scam - which used clone websites and other methods to target investors - have been convicted by the FCA for their roles in a £1.5m fraud.

The duo, Raymondip Bedi, 35, of Bromley, London, and Patrick Mavanga, 39, of Peckham, London, cheated 65 investors out of just over £1.5m.

They used professional-looking websites to offer bogus high returns on fake crypto investments.

In at least two cases the pair used clones or copies of genuine websites including an unauthorised clone of Capital Partner(s) Group and an unauthorised clone of Ian Buckley Financial Services. They also used the websites Astaria Group LLP  and CCX Capital.

The FCA has faced an increasing battle against sophisticated scammers who sometimes use clones of genuine financial websites to target investors. Some have cloned Financial Planning firms. 

The watchdog said that between February 2017 and June 2019, the pair defrauded at least 65 investors out of a total of £1,541,799.

Raymondip Bedi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and money laundering offences. 

Patrick Mavanga pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and possession of false identification documents with an improper intention. 

Patrick Mavanga was also convicted of perverting the course of justice for the deletion of phone call recordings following the arrest of Raymondip Bedi in March 2019. 

The jury were unable to reach a verdict on a third defendant who will face a retrial in September 2025. A fourth individual, Rowena Bedi, was acquitted of money laundering. 

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Bedi and Mavanga lured investors with promises of high returns on crypto investments, but their schemes were nothing but a callous scam.” 

Mssrs Bedi and Mavanga will be sentenced at a later date. Another individual, Minas Filippidis is wanted in relation to the same offences.

Financial scams continue to grow in number. The FCA said in 2023/24, it secured nine successful fraud prosecutions and charged 21 individuals with financial crime offences, the highest number of charges in any single year.