A convicted fraudster who ran a Ponzi scheme from his bedroom in Devon has been ordered to pay £452,287 under confiscation proceedings brought by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Daniel Pugh, 36, who is serving a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for defrauding investors of £1.3m, was issued with the order at Southwark Crown Court on June 5 2026. The sum represents the total value of assets the court found available for recovery, with funds to be used to compensate victims.

Pugh used Facebook advertisements to target investors, promising unrealistic returns that he claimed would be generated through trading across various markets. In reality, only 19 per cent of funds collected from investors were traded. The scheme was operated with another individual.

Steve Smart, the FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said the regulator would “do everything in our power to seize the profits” from fraudsters’ crimes.

Should Pugh fail to pay within three months, he faces a default prison sentence of four years and nine months.

The FCA has issued a final call for victims who have not yet come forward to contact the regulator by June 30 2026. Confiscation orders are made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and require offenders to repay either the benefit gained from criminal conduct or the value of their available assets, whichever is lower.