A former Scotland Yard royal protection officer was found guilty today of a £3m property investment scam.
Paul Page, 38, defrauded colleagues, friends and others out of life savings, redundancy cash, pension payouts, retirement money and loans.
Many of his "innocent dupes", including police officers guarding the Queen, lost five- and six-figure fortunes. Some were pushed to the brink of financial ruin by "rampant deceit", and several saw their marriages crumble under the stress.
All thought they were investing in a thriving property development company. In fact its assets were "so much moonshine" and as real as "fairies at the bottom of the garden", Southwark crown court was told.
Their money funded Page's expensive lifestyle and gambling addiction, paid debts and kept afloat a spread-betting scheme which he ran from Buckingham Palace.
"The ability to inspire confidence and to sound plausible even when telling the most outlandish lies was very much Mr Page's stock in trade," said Douglas Day QC, prosecuting.
Page was convicted of one count of fraudulent trading between 2003 and 2006. He was cleared of making threats to kill against one of his victims.
He began working as a royal protection officer in 1998 and set up a number of sidelines, including a spread-betting venture called The Currency Club, in which up to 100 colleagues took part. When he and other officers lost more than £250,000, Page set up a fake property company, United Land and Property Development, in 2003 and persuaded his colleagues to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The glossy brochure he used to lure them in was a fake. Page, who drove a Porsche and lived the life of a high-flying executive, owned none of the properties that his victims bought into. He conned 20 colleagues out of £1.3m and other victims out of a further £1.7m.
Page, who was charged after an investigation by the Met's department of professional standards, claimed he had set up the property firm as a way of recouping losses from the spread betting for his colleagues. The jury decided he had deliberately set out to defraud his victims in order to fund his lavish lifestyle.
In a notepad found at his home, investigators found a drawing of a house, underneath which Page had written: "United Piss your savings up against the wall Ltd."
Sergeant Adam McGregor, a royal protection colleague, lost £150,000 and had to sell his home to stave off bankruptcy. The officer persuaded his mother to invest £17,000; his brother and his girlfriend put in £20,000 and his father-in-law £30,000.
"I was totally sucked in by Paul. He is a very charismatic person," McGregor said.
Fahim Baree, Page's childhood friend and best man at his wedding, invested the £150,000 he had been left in his late father's will. He was promised "significant returns". He said he was dazzled by the fleet of luxury cars Page was driving and was keen for a share of the profits.
During the trial, Page made a string of allegations about widespread indiscipline and supervisory failures within SO14, the elite team who work – some of them armed – within the royal palaces in London, Scotland and Windsor. Many of his claims were unsubstantiated and denied but there were admissions in court to some of them.
McGregor accepted that he and others had sat on the Queen's throne and had their pictures taken by each other as "something to tell the grandkids".
Asked about a scheme the officers used to cover for each other so that one could have a sleep on duty, McGregor admitted he had fallen asleep on duty at Buckingham Palace. "I was on my post and unfortunately, in the middle of the night, I fell asleep," he said.
Page alleged that armed SO14 officers used police cars to courier tens of thousands of pounds in cash between palaces while on duty. McGregor accepted he had escorted a car containing cash made from the spread betting during a refreshment break.
Page's defence statement said the Currency Club involved 100 officers from the Met and other forces and ran for six years. He claimed that officers traded pornography and played poker on duty.
"Officers in the command are earning £50-60,000 per year with overtime for doing very little," he said.
Scotland Yard said there had been no other disciplinary hearings in relation to the allegations and admissions made in the Page trial.
Detective Superintendent Tony Evans, head of specialist investigation at the Met's directorate of professional standards, said he would not be making any further inquiries into the culture within the royal protection unit. He said the allegations were "historic" and "unsubstantiated".
"I took the decision that [the allegations] would not be investigated. Following the verdict I don't think I will revisit that decision," Evans said.
Page will be sentenced on July 30.