‘Truffle tree’ scam ordered to pay back £13m stripped from victims’ pensions

THE group behind the so-called “truffle tree” pension scam may face criminal charges after a court found that they should pay back £13.7million.

David Austin, Susan Dalton, Alan Barratt and Julian Hanson have been ordered by the High Court to pay back the money they took from victims who were persuaded, via cold-calling and other methods, to transfer their pensions to one of 11 scam schemes, operated by Friendly Pensions Limited.

According to The Pensions Regulator, false documents were used to trick the staff at the legitimate companies holding the pensions into believing that the victims worked for companies linked to the scam schemes in order to persuade them to hand money over. Mr Austin then laundered the money through the accounts of family members.

Among the victims were a couple who transferred £78,000 into a scheme which they were assured would include low-risk investments. They were given £11,800 as “commission”.

But they were sent details of a West Country company growing “truffle trees”, prompting them to contact police. They later found out the “commission” came out of their pension and that they owed the taxman thousands.

High Court judge Mark Pelling ruled that Mr Austin had been the “mastermind” but said all four defendants had acted dishonestly. The repayment ruling is the first time that such an order has been obtained by the regulator.

Nicola Parish, of The Pensions Regulator, said: “They all took part in stripping the schemes almost bare.”

The regulator has referred the judgment to the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider if a criminal case should be brought.