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.