Three people have been convicted for investment fraud and sentenced to a total of 24 and a half years for running the binary options fraud scheme Bespoke Markets Group (BMG). On 3 April 2023, following an 8-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Cameron Vickers, 27, Raheel Mirza, 38, and Opeyemi Solaja, 33, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud consumers. A fourth defendant was convicted for trading without FCA authorization.
Their scam fleeced roughly £1.2 million from around 120 UK investors. Raheel Mirza was further convicted of perverting the course of justice, and Reuben Akpojaro,40, was convicted for trading investments without FCA authorization. Akpojaro was acquitted of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Between June 2016 and January 2020, Cameron Vickers, Raheel Mirza, Opeyemi Solaja, and Reuben Akpojaro made cold calls to consumers to convince them to invest with BMG. Various UK and offshore companies and bank accounts were set up to try to distance the defendants from the fraud (including Upscale Limited, registered in the Marshall Islands) and to launder money.
They claimed to trade their clients’ monies in Binary Options, but the fraudsters used the money to fund their lifestyles. To encourage people to invest or invest more, BMG offered to match investments with their funds and refund losses in the first 3-6 months. The investors had access to a sophisticated online platform showing their funds being traded. However, this was manipulated to show trading activity when there was none.
Cameron Vickers was sentenced to 7 and a half years imprisonment. Raheel Mirza was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for the conspiracy to defraud offense and a consecutive 18 months for perverting the course of justice (a total of 9 and a half years). Opeyemi Solaja was sentenced to 7 and a half years imprisonment.
