A WOULD-BE financial whizz kid was jailed yesterday for losing
millions of pounds of investors' money in a scheme he invented while in
the sixth form.
Aidan Earley, now 25, who was nicknamed Goldfinger by the investors,
saw his empire crash in 1989 with debts of more than #3m.
Knightsbridge Crown Court in London was told that he had bought
himself a Porsche on his 21st birthday.
Earley, formerly of Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, Market Weighton,
Humberside, pleaded guilty to two charges under the Bankruptcy Act of
failing to keep proper accounts and of failing to account to the offical
receiver for the loss of #538,000 between February 1988 and his
insolvency hearing. He was jailed for four months.
Mr John Hitchen, prosecuting, said that Earley had failed to keep
proper books and that his business had been a loser from the start.
Earley had appeared to be a successful high roller promising local
investors a golden return. However, after borrowing money from clients
against a contract assuring a return of up to 48%, he had never been
able to fulfil his commitments.
Mr Hitchen said Earley had believed his own hype that he could achieve
returns of up to 48%, more than four times the interest then payable on
a building society account, by investing larger sums.
On January 12, 1989, three years into his career, he had been made
bankrupt.
Judge Denis Lloyd told Earley: ''When you deal with other people's
money and public money, you must account for how you do it.''
The Judge added that he felt little sympathy for greedy investors who
had given Earley their money.
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