Our client Paul Sampson told of the devastating effects of the fraud had had on his life, leaving him homeless and, at times, being forced to sleep in his car.

The sophisticated scam included a very detailed business proposal which we have spent months investigating and proving that every facet and promise was untrue.

Barclays have initially rejected Mr Sampson’s claim under their fraud reimbursement scheme, saying that the investment loss was outside the six year limitation period.

We are currently representing Mr Sampson to the Financial Ombudsman Service to say that the post-concussion syndrome that suffered as a result of head injuries meant it was not possible for him to understand that he had been defrauded.

We got Mr Sampson a diagnosis from Dr Az Hakeem, a Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Director of Psyche Clinic based in Harley Street, London.

He told the media: “Post concussion syndrome destroys cognitive functions that are needed to recognise fraud.

“Fraud detection requires a person to notice inconsistencies, question what they have been told, and conclude they have been deliberately deceived.

“Memory fragmentation means earlier representations cannot be held in mind long enough to compare against later events.

“The syndrome in this case was also co-presented with depression and anxiety which was exacerbated by the betrayal and Mr Sampson’s own personal experiences. This further suppressed the cognitive vigilance fraud recognition demands.

“Reading about a comparable fraud suddenly provided the framework the brain could not independently construct. Mr Sampson was not generating new reasoning – he was borrowing it. That single moment of external clarity, cutting through years of neurological fog, is entirely consistent with this condition.”

Speaking of Mr Sampson’s investment loss, Martin Richardson, senior partner at Richardson Hartley Law, said: “We’ve managed to prove that every part of the business proposal given to Mr Sampson was fictious. 

It appears that they saw a vulnerability in Paul and took advantage. 

“Mr Sampson’s love of the military was also exploited as they claimed part of his role would be to help veterans.

“This was a well planned and well executed strategy to take all of Paul’s savings. It’s ruined his life.

“We believe that there’s a very strong argument to say that the only reason Paul didn’t bring his claim within the six year limitation period was because of the post concussion syndrome that he suffers from. This is backed up by the psychiatrist’s report.

“We are currently awaiting for the Financial Ombudsman Service to determine whether Paul’s exceptional circumstance mean that his claim can still be heard, particularly as he missed the deadline by just a few weeks. We believe that refusing Paul the ability to make a fraud reimbursement claim because of the fact he suffers from a disability that meant it was not possible to bring a claim in time would be an affront to justice.

“ I’m very hopeful that the Ombudsman will use its powers to do the right thing. Barclays has already accepted that Mr Sampson has suffered a fraud and that should mean he can claim back money under the fraud reimbursement scheme signed up to by the bank.”

The investment loss story appeared in The Sunday Times, The Sun and the Daily Mail newspapers.

Have you lost money to an investment scam? If so, contact us today to see how we can help.

The post Investment Loss- National Media appeared first on Richardson Hartley Law.

We hosted an event at the Houses of Parliament attended by stakeholders to discuss the report which had revealed that fraud in the UK was eight times higher than previously reported.

The story of the APP fraud report was picked up by The Express, The Times, The Sun and the Mirror newspapers. Reporters from the FT, Daily Mail and Which magazine? also attended the event.

While banks and regulators have said that APP fraud payments stand at around £380million a year, the report calculates that these losses are, in reality, about £3billion per annum.

MP Phil Brickell MP, who prior to his election in July 2024 worked for more than a decade across a number of financial institutions tackling financial crime and corruption said: “The findings of this report reconfirm my gravest fear – that fraud is one of the biggest challenges facing our country today. Banks spend billions of pounds every year trying to contain the problem. But given the prevalence of fraudsters on social media platforms, tech firms in particular need to go much further to protect consumers and businesses.”

As well as MPs and journalists, the event has attended by banks, other payment service providers, fraud victims and regulators.

Martin Richardson, senior partner at Richardson Hartley Law, said: ‘The event was a great success. There was huge consensus in the room that everyone must do more to fight the fraud plague.

‘It was a good opportunity to raise awareness of APP fraud in the media.

‘We cannot leave the fight to the banks. Everyone needs to be better at fraud prevention, particularly tech platforms.

‘Our law firm will always fight for scam victims to reclaim their money but we also want to help prevent fraud.’

If you have lost money through APP fraud contact us today.

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