Cafe owner ‘Endorsement’ lured me in

A cafe owner claims he is £15,000 out of pocket after investing in one of Stern Option’s schemes.

Clive Philpott, 62, from Plymouth, said: “They lured me in by claiming Alan Sugar endorsed them.

“Before I invested in November last year, I checked the FCA’s bad boys list and Stern Options weren’t on it, so I thought claims that they were regulated were true.”

Clive claims he has been unable to access his funds, adding: “I still have documents saying there is £49,000 in my Stern Options account – but all I want is my £15,000 back.”

The payments Stern requested appeared on Clive’s bank statement as having been paid to “Grey Mountain”. A binary trading

A spokesperson said: “Before your article, we had no idea who these people were. Our marketing department don’t run campaigns through Facebook at all and never have done.”

Essex Pol ice are investigating complaints from 10 people about Stern Options on behalf of Action Fraud.

A police spokeswoman said: “The investigation is looking at whether the money that victims believed was being invested in Stern Options was actually placed into a bank account attached to a Southend-based company.

“A 44-year-old man from Southend has been interviewed in connection with ongoing inquiries.” firm called Grey Mountain Management applied to be wound up at a court in Ireland in June this year.

Israel-based David Cartu was identified as the owner.

Stern Options insisted: “We have no link with this company.”