Fraud investigators in Britain have arrested three people as part of a probe into a property developer whose 2019 collapse forced some elderly people to move out of their homes and left 600 investors out of pocket.
The Carlauren Group had offered its investors annual returns of 10 per cent as it raised cash to buy properties, renovate them and turn them into high-end care homes.
Over four years it bought 23 sites, most of them old hotels, including Windlestone Hall in Durham, England.
But now the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) believes that the company might have been part of a £76 million (€88 million) fraud.
#Breaking 🚨 The SFO has raided two properties and made three arrests in new £76 million care home fraud investigation.
Our Director, Nick Ephgrave QPM, on the investigation⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MFwISULah7Advertisement— Serious Fraud Office (SFO) (@UKSFO) March 12, 2024
It said that only nine of 23 properties were ever operational and some continued to be run as hotels.
Meanwhile, the company bought two Lamborghinis, a McLaren 570GT, a private jet and two yachts.
“This company’s abrupt collapse has created turmoil and enormous anxiety for many, with elderly people forced to vacate their homes and investors left with nothing,” said SFO director Nick Ephgrave.
“Today’s arrests are a major development in our investigation and a step towards getting the answers so many people need.”
More than 600 people and companies invested in the scheme. The investors bought rooms that would then be rented out to residents.
“Rooms were advertised widely and sold with a guaranteed annual payout and the opportunity to resell the asset back with up to a 25 per cent profit after 10 years,” the SFO said.
