'Fraudsters stole everything, even my house'

"It all came to a head on 8 February. I became very concerned, and thought: 'Oh my god, what have I done?'."

"I was very frightened, and I began to feel like a total idiot."

Graeme Stagg is talking about the moment when he realised he'd been the victim of an investment fraud, the most comprehensive and devastating fraud ever investigated by the Money Box team.

It started in August 2021 when Graeme wanted his savings to work harder for him.

He began researching online and came across NCapital, which has since disappeared.

It was offering to help people invest in crypto currencies.

Graeme is a widowed 77-year-old, but has served 22 years in the RAF and retired as a squadron leader, so felt he knew what he was doing.

He began by investing a small amount, just £50, but was told the more money he invested the better deal he'd get.

The next day he put in £10,000, and in just a few weeks Graeme had been groomed by the criminals so completely he'd transferred well over £100,000 worth of savings.

By this stage Graeme was becoming desperate. Bit by bit the criminals used that desperation to pull him even deeper into their web.

The fraudster convinced Graeme there was a problem with the company he'd invested with, but that a second man, who called himself Geoff, could help him get all his money back - but they'd need more money to do it.

In Graeme's desperation he began throwing more good money after bad. By now he was tens of thousands of pounds in debt.

The next step for the criminals was securing hundreds of thousands of pounds of capital from equity release raised from Graeme's treasured family home.

When that had gone, the criminal's final act was to persuade a now utterly lost and totally desperate Graeme to use a quick-sale company to sell his home - all with the promise of just one more investment to get all his money back.

The fraudster promised Graeme that as soon as he sold his home, he'd buy it back immediately, and hand it over to Graeme, who would get his home and all his money back.

The day this was supposed to happen was 8 February 2022, when Graeme got a message supposedly from Geoff's PA saying he'd been in a car crash.

That's the moment Graeme realised he'd become the victim of a fraud losing nearly £800,000.

"I hadn't told my children. I'd basically given away my whole life to this individual. I pulled all the blinds and curtains down at my house, and my neighbour saw what I'd done, and she rang me up and she said: 'Graeme, what's the problem?'"

At this point in the interview Graeme's voice begins to falter, he often pauses and tries to continue through tears.

"My son came over to my house and... it all broke and I admitted what I'd done. I was a complete and utter mess. I could not believe what I had done.

"I'm 77 years old. I'm a mature man, I've fought in two wars, I've had a commission with the RAF for 22 years. I've flown around the world, I have experienced death, and yet I have committed this gross error. It's very, very difficult to explain."

Graeme's daughter Liz says her world was turned upside down when she found out what had happened to her dad.

"Everybody was in complete shock. When something like that lands on you, you just don't know what to do.

"These people are like thieves, but to me they're worse, they're like murderers, because they're actually killing somebody's future life.

"And it's not just one person, it's the ripple effect it has on the victim's family."

Even though Graeme's case is being investigated by the police, it's unlikely there will be any arrests, let alone charges or convictions.

In England and Wales 4.6 million people are affected by fraud each year andaround 700,000 will go on to suffer profoundly, an October 2021 report by the Victim's Commissioner suggested.

According to the report, fraud is 39% of all crime.

But a 2021 report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Service into how police handled fraud concluded "that too many victims still receive poor service and are denied justice".

That report said only 2% of police resources are allocated to fraud, with fewer than 8,000 prosecutions in 2019.

Liz says the reason she and her dad decided to speak out is to try to warn others about how dangerous fraud can be.

"It's like we're living a different life since 8 February. I cannot tell you how overwhelming this is and how much it has taken over the family.

"So I would just like everybody to be fully aware of the evil people that are out there and how easily people, who don't believe they are vulnerable, can so easily succumb to this and be groomed by these people.

"It is heartbreaking and I do not wish this on absolutely anybody else."

Of the nearly £800,000 Graeme had stolen, the vast majority of that money was transferred out of two accounts - one with Santander and one with Barclays.

Barclays said they sympathised with Graeme but could not be held liable in this instance so had informed Graeme he could take his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Santander told us they were also sympathetic and were reviewing the case.

As for the quick-house-sale company which bought Graeme's house, that's called Good Move.

We've asked them a number of questions, including if they would agree to pause the completion of the purchase of Graeme's home during the investigation by police.

They didn't answer any of our questions and didn't feel it was appropriate to comment further on this matter when there could be potential legal proceedings at a future date.

You can hear more on this story on BBC Radio 4's Money Box podcast by clicking here.

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