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FCA orders £655,951 payout in scam by ex-NASA scientist
The FCA said payouts mean an estimated 99% of money invested by about 70 known victims will be returned.
BBC Business reports that investors defrauded of more than £1m by former NASA scientist John Burford will receive most of their money back, following an FCA confiscation order.
Burford, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, admitted defrauding 100 investors and was sentenced to two years in prison in 2025. The regulator said that between 2016 and 2021, he offered trade alerts and investment opportunities in “managed funds” through his firm Financial Trading Strategies, despite not being authorised.
At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court, the 86-year-old was ordered to pay £655,951.40, with the FCA describing the sum as the total value of assets the court found could still be recovered and returned directly to victims. The FCA said he generated more than £1m in its investigation but only traded £760,000, much of which was lost, and that substantial funds sent by investors were used to buy a house.
The FCA also said Burford repeatedly misled investors about performance, concealed losses, and used their money for personal gain. It estimated that, together with previous payments, about 99% of the money originally invested by the roughly 70 known victims will have been returned.