Ponzi Schemes- Daily Express Column

21st April 2026
Posted in Express, Fraud Awareness, Fraud recovery experts, Legal Help

Martin Richardson, a senior partner, at Richardson Hartley Law has written a hard-hitting article about the Government’s failure to protect its citizens from fraud.

Fraud now accounts for nearly half of all crime in the UK.

Everyday we hear about the financial and emotion devastation cause by fraud to our clients

What has become a huge concern for us is the growth of multi-million pound Ponzi schemes where the fraudsters seems to act with seeming impunity.

At Richardson Hartley Law we have developed increasing diverse routes in helping Ponzi scheme victims to recover their money but we strongly believe that the Government needs to create stronger deterrents.

Please read Martin’s Daily Express column in full below.

Government Failure To Tackle Fraudsters Is A National Scandal

“A key duty of Government is to protect its citizens. This is centred on ensuring safety, security and upholding the rule of law.

When it comes to fraud, British citizens are being spectacularly failed on every measure.

There are very few protections for ordinary people from the scourge of fraud. This is so acute that I now believe it can only be described as serious failure of Government.

Last year, we predicted there would be a rise in overseas scams and fraud fueled by artificial intelligence. There is no doubt this has occurred. Foreign criminals are targeting the UK and sucking out billions of pounds.

We all know that social media sites are allowed to host and peddle scam adverts to help lure in unsuspecting victims. Telecommunication giants also help send out scam texts and phone calls every second of every minute.

It seems the Government is too scared to hold these behemoths to account. It is estimated that Meta which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram sees more than 50% of UK fraud operated through, or started from, their platforms.

What other company would be allowed to operate as a conduit for criminality?

Where is the protection from Government for its citizens when it come to safety and security from foreign fraud.

Arguably, worse than this dereliction of duty to protect its citizen’s, is the complete failure to uphold the rule of law.

You will hear that arguments that there is nothing that can be done to thwart overseas criminals as we cannot arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

However, the real scandal is that we are seeing a huge rise in fraud being perpetrated with impunity by British citizens.

Ponzi schemes are now rife in the UK.  In fact, the country has become a centre for fraudulent investment schemes. Ironically, overseas victims do not have the same redress as UK citizens from these British-based crimes.

We are seeing individual British investment scams raking in tens of millions of pounds and then watching the police, Serious Fraud Office and  National Crime Agency all refusing to bring prosecutions.

So-called property investment schemes will often take in millions of pounds to buy flats, houses or care homes only for adminstrators of the collapsed company to find just a few hundred thousand pounds were spent on the purpose for which the money was sent.

The fraudsters create glossy brochures, have high-end websites and sophisticated online platforms that investors can log into. They even have genuine offices that would-be investors can visit and meet the fraudsters face-to-face.

To the outside world they look a fantastic opportunity for people to make decent returns on their money.

However, when the schemes collapses the investors are left penniless and the fraudsters disappear. But many don’t flee the country. Instead, they just set up another scheme.

Such clear and obvious crimes where money has not been used for the purpose it was given should be an easy nick for the authorities. However, these white collar criminals now seem to be above the law.

We see the same directors flitting from one investment scam to another.

The architects of these collapsed frauds seem to have no shame. Many are on podcasts preaching to their next would-be victims how they can make them rich.

All of this is made possible by introducers who, in some schemes, are taking as much as 20% of the investment capital as an introductory fee.

The failure of Government to hold any of these people to account is a national scandal and an international embarrassment.

We have many overseas clients who were attracted to investing into British companies precisely because they felt we would have better protections. These people also feel hugely let down.

The personal cost of falling victim to these investment scams isn’t just financial. We see it lead to severe depression, relationship breakdowns , victims losing their homes and pensioner having to come out of retirement.

However, no political party seems to be taking the subject of fraud seriously.

Noone is saying; we will protect you, we will ensure that justice is done.

Even on a economic front it seems madness no one sees fraud as top priority. Billions of pounds are being drained from our already anemic economy.

We do what we can to help fraud victims but we need the Government to step up and carry out one of its most basic duties- protecting its citizens.”

Have you lost money to a Ponzi scheme? If so, contact us today to see how we can help.