top of page
Search

UK’s Serious Fraud Office Recovers Over £1 Million from Convicted Solicitor Timothy Schools

Flexi Group

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has successfully recovered just over £1 million from former solicitor Timothy Schools, who was convicted in 2022 for masterminding a fraudulent investment scheme that left hundreds of investors facing significant financial losses.


UK’s Serious Fraud Office Recovers Over £1 Million from Convicted Solicitor Timothy Schools

Schools, 61, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in defrauding investors through the Cayman Islands-based Axiom Legal Financing Fund. Launched in 2009, the fund claimed to provide secure returns by financing law firms involved in no-win-no-fee cases. Instead, Schools diverted millions into businesses he controlled and financed a lavish lifestyle.


The SFO demonstrated at Southwark Crown Court that more than £1 million of Schools’ assets were proceeds of crime. Should he fail to repay this amount, he risks facing an additional five years behind bars.


John Pierce, SFO Director of Enforcement, remarked, “This case arose from a follow-up compliance assessment. We will continue to monitor this operator to ensure compliance.”

The fraud perpetrated by Schools impacted around 35,000 clients and is estimated to have cost 500 investors more than £100 million. Funds were misappropriated to law firms secretly owned by him, including ATM, Ashton Fox, and Bracewell’s.


Cyprus Company Formation

Among Schools' luxury purchases were:

  • A £5.5 million ski resort mansion in Canada

  • A £3.3 million hunting estate in Cumbria

  • A motorboat

  • £60,000 spent on a private box at Blackpool FC soccer club


The SFO characterized Schools’ tactics as a “complex web of lies” designed to conceal losses, involving the use of new loans to pay off old debts and misleading auditors regarding the fund’s performance.


Additionally, Schools has been disqualified from serving as a company director and has been removed from the solicitor’s register. The SFO indicated that investigations into his assets are ongoing.

By fLEXI tEAM


Comments


 Proudly created by Flexi Team

bottom of page