Jailed: Shaun Oates, a City trader who lost his employer £4.8m in a series of reckless gambles, has been handed a five-year sentence
A South African-born City trader, who came to the UK to 'seek his fortune' but ended up losing his company £4.8m in a series of reckless gambles, has been jailed for five years.
Shaun Oates, 31, of New Addington, Surrey, left TRX Futures with the massive black hole in its accounts after blowing the cash on speculative deals in the futures, options and foreign exchange markets.
The firm had to cut salaries and lay off two employees in an attempt to balance its books, while Oates pocketed £775,000 for himself.
Oates broke company rules by setting up a trading account for his own front company, Cynthen Capital, and then faking records to show it had deposited $5m, the Old Bailey heard.
Oates also deleted successful trades from real clients' records, before diverting the profits and buying two houses with £775,000 of ill-gotten gains.
Warning Oates that he faces deportation to his native South Africa, Judge Peter Thornton QC said he had engaged in a 'deliberate course of dishonest conduct over nearly two years.'
He said: 'It was designed to make money for yourself, which in due course it did - although at the expense of others.
'It goes without saying that fraud of this kind affects public confidence in the City.'
The court heard that the con artist, who began working for TRX in 2006, came unstuck when bosses finally noticed the huge losses and called in the police in last November.
As the firm's project and risk manager, his job was to minimise the company's exposure to financial uncertainty.
Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Oates continued to deny any wrongdoing in meetings with company managers and refused to answer any questions in a police interview after his arrest.
After the fraud was uncovered, the firm lost £4.86m, some 30 per cent of its capital.
Peter Hunter, defending, said the con failed after the markets 'became turbulent' in late 2008.
He said: 'Every time he did a trade and lost, instead of stopping he tried to double his trade to recoup the loss - he tried to trade his way out.
Court: Judge Peter Thornton QC warned Oates that he faces deportation to his native South Africa, during the hearing at the Old Bailey today
Court: Judge Peter Thornton QC warned Oates that he faces deportation to his native South Africa, during the hearing at the Old Bailey today
'Eventually, the losses became awful and he had no choice but to approach his employers.
'He has asked me to apologise to the court and to all concerned. He is thoroughly ashamed.'
Oates first moved to the UK in 2004 after graduating with a degree in accounting and economics from Stellenbosch University, near Cape Town.
Mr Hunter said: 'He came to this country, in fact, to seek his fortune.
'Whilst here, his mother came into difficulties with finances, and his brother became addicted to drugs, so he was under pressure to find money.
'The original desire was to help them.
'Every asset he had has been taken, and everything from his bank account to the house he lived in has been repossessed and taken back.
'There was no extravagant lifestyle, he wasn't driving a flash car.
'The profit to this man is nothing.' Oates admitted two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
