politics
Reform UK Councillor Susan Lawrence Promoted Despite HyperVerse Ponzi Links
Reform UK councillor Susan Lawrence sits on a Wolverhampton audit committee despite links to the HyperVerse scheme.
Key points
- US court documents describe HyperVerse as an alleged pyramid and Ponzi scheme that cheated investors out of $1.89bn.
- Lawrence kept promoting HyperVerse and related schemes after the Financial Conduct Authority issued a 2021 consumer warning.
- A Reform spokesperson said Lawrence lost her pension and tens of thousands of pounds and has no current involvement in the schemes.
Why it matters. The case adds to scrutiny of Reform's vetting of councillors, a process the party is under renewed pressure over, and of oversight of a multimillion-pound council budget.
Susan Lawrence, a Reform UK councillor in Wolverhampton, helped promote the HyperVerse crypto scheme in the UK. US court documents call it an alleged pyramid and Ponzi scheme that cheated investors out of $1.89bn (£1.41bn). She kept promoting it, and later variants, after the FCA's 2021 consumer warning. A Reform spokesperson said she lost her pension and tens of thousands of pounds in the scam; Lawrence did not reply to the Guardian.
Latest updates
Reform UK Councillor Susan Lawrence Promoted Despite HyperVerse Ponzi Links
Susan Lawrence, a Reform UK councillor elected to Wolverhampton City Council, sits on a committee overseeing the financial reporting of the council's multimillion-pound budget, the Guardian reported. The report examines her past involvement with HyperVerse, a collapsed scheme described as a $1.9bn Ponzi scheme. Victims of the scheme told the Guardian that it left them in severe distress. The report raises questions about her suitability for a role on a committee overseeing public finances. The article's account of her promotion and the scheme's losses comes from the Guardian's reporting. Further responses from the council and from Reform UK would be needed to clarify her position.
Sources
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