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City fraudster spent millions on life in the fast lane
Justin Davenport06.03.09
A multi-million-pound City investment fraudster was today jailed for four and a half years.
Marc Duchesne, 47, promised investors their money was safe and then squandered it on cars, including Ferraris. He was sentenced at Southwark crown court today after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud between October 2004 and July 2006.
Passing sentence Judge Michael Gledhill QC told Duchesne: “This case is about greed.” Duchesne set up a fraudulent investment company where €12 million and almost £3 million was deposited. He then bought a Ferrari Enzo, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Bentley Arnage and several Humvees and motorbikes. He bought a speedboat for a friend and chartered private planes as well as spending £60,000 on cosmetic dentistry, £22,000 a time on cigars and £1 million on his flat.
Duchesne, of East Finchley, falsely claimed his bogus company, Benchmark Asset Managers, was regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
The judge said: “By conspicuous display of wealth you persuaded others, including investors, you were a highly successful hedge fund manager.
“In fact you were quite simply a common fraudster.” Duchesne was disqualified from being a director for 10 years.
Co-defendants Thiery Doutrepont, 56, of Shropshire, was given two years. Engineer Michael Gallagher, 65, of Walsall, and Edgar Hutton, 64, from Nottingham, were sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work.
Reader views (3)
4 years which no doubt will end up as 18 months or so is not a bad result for a few £million
- Mike, London England
If there's any good coming out of this recession, it's that there's no hiding place for conmen like this.
"No fixed abode"? Transferred his assets elsewhere, more likely!
- Sa, London
Quite obviously, he did not steal enough to escape jail or have a knighthood conferred on him for services to the financial trade or even charity.
- Gamini, Reading, UK
