A group of famous reality TV stars who have emerged as social media influencers, have appeared in Southwark Crown Court, in London. The stars including Lauren Goodger from The Only Way is Essex industry, Chris Biggs from Love Island and Scott Timlin from Geordie Shore, pleaded not guilty after being charged with promoting an unauthorized and high-risk trading scheme to their followers on Instagram. If proven guilty due to the charges, the accused might face a prison term of up to two years. The trial has been scheduled for 2022 with Emmanuel Nwanze and Holly Thompson also facing several charges for allegedly running the scheme.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) brought the charges against the stars, claiming that they were paid to promote the trading scheme on social media as an authorised service between 2018 to 2021. The Instagram account @Holly_fxtrends was used to generate promoting content related to buying and selling of contracts for difference, which all occurred without authorisation. The regulator alleged that betting on the price of foreign currencies was considered a high-risk investment where only 20 percent of the customers who invested into the scheme lost money.
The social media influencers in total have a combined following of 4.5 million on Instagram. Some of the other infamous names among the accused included Rebecca Gormley, Eva Zapico and Jamie Clayton from the Love Island, and Yazmin Oukhellou from The Only Way is Essex. The influencers, Nwanze and Thompson have each been charged specifically with unauthorised communications of financial promotions. Eight of the nine defendants present in the court have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Apart from the charges filed by the FCA, Mr. Nwanze has been charged with breaching General Prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The act prohibits people from carrying out regulated activities in the UK unless they possess an authorisation to do so. Ms. Zapico, due to her absence from the hearing, has a further plea hearing scheduled for September.
The outcome of the trial will mark a significant turning point in investing and financial promotions, specifically in the United Kingdom, setting precedents for other social media influencers who may have promoted high-risk investment schemes to their followers
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