Man who duped Portsmouth businessmen into investing over £100,000 for 'lavish lifestyle' avoids jail

David Gilbert sent false screenshots and WhatsApp messages showing success of the foreign trading investments between 2016/17 before he was caught out after losing over £40,000 of customers’ money and never even investing £16,000.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how the 34-year-old targeted a Portsmouth businessman who had just sold his £1m business.

In September 2016, Gilbert persuaded the business acquaintance that he could deliver the pair equal profits by investing in foreign trading firm FXCM after working as an apprentice trader for a year.

An initial deposit of nearly £10,000 was handed over to Gilbert, which he put in his personal bank account. He then subsequently sent a WhatsApp message revealing the investment had achieved a profit of £2,500, which ‘was not true’, prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams said.

Further approaches to the investor saw him hand over further sums including £35,000 in November 2016.

In total, the customer ended up depositing £73,134 with the defendant.

‘Screenshots were sent of purported success but all the money had been lost,’ the prosecutor said.

Gilbert, of Mayfield Avenue, Totton, asked the businessman if he knew of anyone else who would be interested in the venture before he introduced a Portsmouth friend who invested £35,000 in three installments in 2017.

Money was again put into Gilbert’s personal account with ‘false’ screenshot updates of apparent success.

Amid growing fears over their investments after failing to receive the profits, the men finally pinned Gilbert down to a meeting after ‘a lot of chasing’.

‘There was a lack of explanation as to where the money had gone,’ Ms Kettle-Williams said.

Bankruptcy proceedings were then started by both men against Gilbert who was also arrested. ‘He denied a lavish lifestyle but accepted he made false representations over profitability,’ the prosecutor said.

She added: ‘The defendant had a lifestyle in excess of his means. Vehicles he had purchased and high end bikes demonstrated what he could afford through the fraud.’

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Gary Venturi, defending, said Gilbert did not set out to embark in fraudulent behaviour. ‘This was a real effort to trade but his enthusiasm and faith in his ability was misguided and he had an inability to cope when it went wrong,’ he said.

‘The defendant said he was an “inherently good person”...the court may raise an eyebrow. But this was not entirely motivated by greed.

‘He has tried to make payments to the victims where he can.’

The court was told Gilbert had paid back nearly £34,000 to his victims but there was still just short of £15,000 owed.

Recorder Hannah Willcocks said: ‘The police investigation showed a lavish lifestyle although you deny this, but you admit sending false WhatsApp messages.

‘You were placed in a position of trust and this went on for a sustained period of time causing significant financial and emotional harm.

‘You have paid back a lot of money although this was after bankruptcy proceedings were started. You’ve lost friends and those who placed trust in you.’

Gilbert, who admitted two counts of fraud by false representation from September 2016 to November 2017, was spared immediate jail after having no relevant previous convictions and not offending in the last three years.

He was instead handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years and told to complete 20 rehabilitation days.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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