Financial adviser who preyed on the bereaved jailed for £85k theft

Laura Miller
clock

A financial adviser has been jailed for five years for stealing a total of £85,000 from his victims in a theft campaign targeting the elderly and the recently bereaved.

Stewart Sermon, a self-employed financial adviser at B L Investments in Wigan, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to two counts of theft and a further count of theft was ordered to lie on file. The Crown Prosecution Service said he deliberately targeted victims who had either recently lost a spouse or had no close relatives. Sermon was previously an adviser at the Burns Anderson network, part of Honister Capital which was put into administration in July 2012 and declared in default last year. He had also worked as an adviser for Barclays Financial Planning, Barclays Bank's advice...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Regulation

FCA's SDR regulation will 'make advisers sit up and listen'

FCA's SDR regulation will 'make advisers sit up and listen'

‘There has to be a fundamental re-educating of the adviser community’

Isabel Baxter
clock 30 November 2023 • 4 min read
Advice/guidance boundary review will help 'bridge advice gap'

Advice/guidance boundary review will help 'bridge advice gap'

The FCA’s latest update leads to mixed reactions from the industry

Sahar Nazir
clock 04 August 2023 • 4 min read
FCA review confirms investment pathways working 'as intended'

FCA review confirms investment pathways working 'as intended'

No changes to initiative but industry called to better support savers

Holly Roach
clock 12 July 2023 • 3 min read