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Four men who operated high-yield investment schemes were sentenced to a total of over ten years after admitting their participation in defrauding investors worldwide of US$10 million. The investigation was conducted by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Cheshire Police, with international assistance. At the centre was a project to extract gold from spent ore; no production or revenue was ultimately generated.

Source: Archived SFO communication preserved on this site. See the original PDF for the full text.

Between 1996 and 1998, Frederick Taylor and Martin Shaughnessy solicited investments, typically in multiples of $100,000, from investors across the US, Europe, Canada, and Singapore. Promotional assurances referenced “bank guarantees” and insurance that proved to have no substance; funds were used in a manner consistent with a “Ponzi” scheme. An English solicitor, Christopher Darke, acted as a stakeholder; he was in fact a director of one of Paul De Rome’s companies, Anglo American Metals Inc.

Funds were transferred to Anglo American Metals Inc. (AAM), set up by Paul De Rome and based in Victoria, Texas. While equipment was purchased, the business produced no gold and no revenue. Various insurance arrangements cited were inadequate or false. To raise additional funds, share schemes and guaranteed buy‑backs were offered; guarantees were not honoured.

• Charges included conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent trading, false accounting, and making false or misleading statements.
• Sentences (19 June 2009): Paul De Rome — 46 months; Frederick Taylor — 36 months; Christopher Darke — 28 months; Ian Whittock — 14 months suspended for 2 years. De Rome and Taylor were disqualified from being company directors for 10 years.
• Confiscation proceedings were due to conclude in September 2009.

This section reproduces additional context from the 2009 page: the roles of Maincrest Investments Ltd and London & General Finance Ltd; the use of so‑called “bank guarantees” and insurance; the transfer of investor funds to Anglo American Metals Inc. in Texas; subsequent “debt‑for‑equity” offers; and the charges brought (conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent trading, false accounting, false/misleading statements). For the verbatim language, please refer to the archived PDF.