A devastated couple fear they have lost their life savings after investing with a controversial businessman linked to Scotland’s space race.
Chris Sheppard and wife Elaine handed £60,000 to a firm run by self-styled “wonderkid” Michael Haston.
Haston – who also uses the name McQueen – was previously allowed to invest £2million in a Government-backed space port in Shetland while facing fraud charges.
He is now charging £250,000 a week to help entrepreneurs raise money “directly from private investors” – despite a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warning over another of his ventures.
Retired steel worker Chris claims to have lost his retirement fund after getting involved with the Edinburgh-based businessman’s firm Satchi Holdings.
Chris, 60, said: “My wife and I fear we have lost our life savings – £60,000 in total. It is devastating.
“We thought we were getting into a safe, regulated investment bond that would give us a decent little income for our retirement.
“I was initially cold called by a company who recommended I speak to a firm called Copia Wealth Management about investments.
“I researched Copia online and then made contact independently and they recommended this Satchi bond, which I was led to believe would see our cash grow by nine per cent a year.
“We decided we would move our ISA savings into the fund as it all seemed legit.
“The next correspondence we got was from Mike Haston at Satchi Holdings PLC saying thanks for investing – it was £30,000 from me and £30,000 from Elaine.
“Everything seemed fine for the first year – the payments were coming through every month. But then they started to arrive later and later and I was constantly having to chase them up.
“Over this time I spoke to Mike Haston several times on the phone. Eventually I asked for a full redemption of the £60,000 because I was getting more and more worried about what I had got into.
“Haston initially told me that would be fine and he’d arrange for the transfer but it never arrived.
“Then in January this year I got a letter from a firm called Hartreel Holding saying they had taken over the management of Satchi.
“Communication decreased and it’s been months since I managed to get anyone on the phone.”
Chris, from Deeside, Wales, added: “It is incredibly upsetting and stressful to think that the money is just gone but nobody seems able to help us.
“I have been on to Action Fraud and called the police in Wales and Scotland but nobody seems to be able to do anything – you just
feel that nobody wants to take responsibility for it.”
Haston once went to court to try to gag our revelations about a fraud investigation. He was charged with fraud in 2017 as part of an investigation which has now been discontinued by prosecutors.
The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning to investors over another of his firms, Leonne International.
Shetland Space Port CEO Frank Strang has insisted he has cut all ties with Haston and repaid his loans.
Satchi Holdings PLC remains an active company and Haston is a director but it has never filed accounts and they are overdue. Haston is a director and controller of a firm called Hartreel Limited. There is no record of a Hartreel Holdings with Companies House.
Copia Wealth Management is in liquidation and the FCA warned investors to “take care” if approached by “anyone claiming to be a representative or agent of Copia Wealth Management Limited”.
Attempts were made to contact Haston.
He has not responded to requests for comment.
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