Six charged following £75m fraud investigation

A Lancashire businessman is one of six people charged following a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into the transfer of £75m in pension funds into storage units.

Toby Whittaker, a director of  storage company Store First, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud.

Stephen Michael Talbot; Stuart Grehan, also known as Stuart Chapman-Clark; Terence Wright and Emma Hawkins, also known as Emma Grehan, are also accused of conspiracy to defraud.

Talbot faces a money laundering charge along with a sixth defendant. And both Talbot and Grehan have been charged with Perjury Act offences.

The defendants are expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 21 this year.

The SFO said that the “complex” investigation centred on the transfer of pension funds into storage units based mainly in the north of England and Scotland.

In a statement the SFO said that between 2011 and 2014, more than 1,900 UK investors transferred their pensions into self-invested personal pensions to invest in storage units sold by Store First.

Investors were promised a long-term leasehold on a unit and a return on their investment through renting the unit out.

The SFO has alleged that misrepresentations were made in the marketing of the product, including that investors would receive a guaranteed return and that units were ready for people to rent.

According to the SFO, alleged misrepresentations also include offering upfront cash incentives to investors without telling them they might be exposed to a tax liability for receiving money out of their pension.

Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said: “The charges are the culmination of a complex investigation by the SFO and represent an important step in pursuing justice for the many people who transferred their hard-earned pensions into this product.”

Whittaker’s defence lawyer Anthony Barnfather said that his client “vehemently denies any wrongdoing in relation to the ongoing proceedings and will fully contest the allegations made against him”.

He issued a statement from his client which said: “I have full confidence in the British legal system, and I trust that, in due course, the facts will speak for themselves.”

Based in Padiham, Store First’s operations in Lancashire include a facility at Northlight in Brierfield.