Convicted Jewish Financier Who Stole £15m from 55 Clients Released After 3 Years of 6-Year Jail Term

NEW YORK (VINnews) — A former wealth management consultant who stole nearly 15 million pounds from British Jewish clients has been released from jail after serving a half of a six-year sentence for theft and fraud.

Freddy David, who was convicted of a Ponzi scheme in which he which he stole a total of £14,545,594 from 55 clients over ten years, many of whom were Jewish, had served three years of his sentence. Last year he was ordered to pay back to the client 1.3 million pounds, a fraction of what he had stolen from his clients but a “realistic sum” according to the judge, after David embezzled most of the money to fund heavy gambling, pay children’s school fees and take luxury vacations. David transferred his mother around £176,000 while under investigation and spent around £36,000 on gambling just a few days before he was finally arrested. David also opened a kosher restaurant in the London neighborhood of Borehamwood where he lived with money from another investor.

David’s wife Hannah, a London city councillor who attempted to run for Conservative MP for Harrow in 2017, has insisted she had no knowledge of her husband’s financial dealings.

Many of David’s victims came from the Jewish community, and some told the court during his 2018 trial that they had been reduced to poverty as a result of David’s actions. One man said he had contemplated suicide.

David has been released subject to restrictions, including paying the fine and not participating in other financial advisory activities for life. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said he had not been released earlier than usual. Most prisoners convicted of white-collar crimes can expect to be released after serving half their sentence.

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