A rogue financial adviser who was barred from being a company director for 12 years after misappropriating more than £250,000 in a Ponzi-type scheme is back in business, running a pub in Bridge of Weir.
Until last year, Stewart Kennedy was the sole director of Easyearn, a franchise get-rich-quick scheme that offered investors the chance to buy into professional services franchises. But the company was wound up in January 2013 by a judge "in the public interest".
The Sunday Herald has learned that the two-time bankrupt is now running a new pub called Archie's Bar in the Renfrewshire village. The law does not stop someone who has been barred from being a company director from managing their own business or setting up as a sole trader. Contacted by this newspaper, Kennedy said: "It is not a limited company so it is not a problem."
Archie's Bar is owned by Punch Taverns, which confirmed that it holds the freehold on the pub and that Kennedy is its tenant. A spokesman for the chain said that the company was unable comment in time for this article.
Easyearn persuaded investors to put up £15,000 for franchises, claiming they would receive £4600 a month. Clients were told they would get their money back if the scheme failed, but only five customers received money - most of which came from money paid in by 15 later entrants, who lost what they had put in.
According to the Insolvency Service, which brought the action, Kennedy took £105,000 in salary and expenses over nine months. A further £158,000 in withdrawals and debit card spending was never accounted for, including a £14,000 withdrawal a week before the firm folded in April 2011. An IS report said: "Mr Kennedy misled investors with fabricated testimonials and also massively over-estimated the potential returns, as well as offering worthless money-back guarantees."
In 2007, Kennedy was charged with fraud for taking close to £100,000 from mortgage clients, but the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.
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