Playboy fraudster faces extradition to US over £12m hedge fund scam

 
9 August 2013
WEST END FINAL

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A playboy fraudster is facing extradition to the United States to face charges over a multi-million pound hedge fund scam.

Marc Duchesne, 52, pocketed £12million from at least 50 unwitting victims after promising them high returns on their money.

Duchesne spent the money on a fleet of cars including a Ferrari Enzo, a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Bentley Arnage and several Hummers.

He bought a speedboat for a friend, spent £60,000 on cosmetic dentistry and his cigar bill alone was more than £22,000.

The conman also spent thousands of pounds a week in Harrods and flew around the world in private jets.

Duchesne fled to Switzerland before being returned to the UK where he was jailed in 2009 for four-and-a-half years.

But after just serving just six months he absconded from an open prison.

Described as a “Walter Mitty” character, Duchesne was later ordered to pay back £1.9m by a judge in his absence or face another five years jail in default of payment.

Duchesne was re-arrested last year and has been battling extradition to the US ever since.

Today the bespectacled conman appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court via a video-link from prison.

His lawyer Ben Cooper told the court that an undertaking had been given to Duchesne by the Swiss authorities that he would not be extradited to a third country and “it would be disproportionate to subject him to another prosecution.”

But Mr Cooper admitted: “The long and short of it is we haven't got to the bottom of it.”

District Judge John Zani remanded Duchesne in custody ahead of a full extradition hearing on September 5.

Duchesne and his associated had set up a bogus hedge fund Benchmark Asset Management (BAM) to persuade wealthy UK and European investors to part with their cash while guaranteeing massive returns.

Between October 2004 and July 2006, Duchesne poured investors' cash into BAM accounts and used it to fund his luxury lifestyle.

Duchesne, formerly of East Finchley, had admitted a series of fraud charges including conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to obtain money by deception.

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