Joyti De-Laurey was born Joyti Schahhou in 1970 in London and grew up in Hampstead. She worked as a sales assistant in an Aston Martin showroom before setting up a sandwich bar business with her spouse Tony De-Laurey. When it failed she signed up as a temp and was sent to Goldman Sachs. She gained a reputation for being an efficient worker and was hired as a full-time personal assistant for investment banker Jennifer Moses, also taking on tasks for Moses’ husband, Ron Beller. When Moses left Goldman, De-Laurey went on to work as an assistant to banker Scott Mead.
What was the scam?
What happened next?
By 2002 De-Laurey was planning to leave Goldman and start a new life with her family in Cyprus. But while she was working out her notice, Mead decided to make a donation to Harvard University. When he discovered that he hadn’t enough money in his investment account to cover the donation, he investigated and discovered the theft. De-Laurey was arrested and her accounts were frozen. Two years later she was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and obtaining money by deception. De-Laurey was described in court by Mead as the “Picasso of con artists”. Her mother and her husband were also convicted of money laundering.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Lessons for investors
De-Laurey is believed to have stolen £4.3m (equivalent to £7m in today’s money), including a single £2.25m transfer from one of Mead’s investment accounts, and only part of the money was recovered. Both the bankers involved and Goldman Sachs received a huge amount of negative publicity for the fact that it had taken them so long to become aware of the thefts. It is a good idea regularly to check your savings and investment accounts to make sure there are no unexplained withdrawals or errors.
-
What are wealth taxes and would they work in Britain?The Treasury is short of cash and mulling over how it can get its hands on more money to plug the gap. Could wealth taxes do the trick?
-
UK bank stocks are no bargain – here's a safer alternativeOpinion Britain's banking sector faces severe political risks. Switch into this global financials trust instead, says Max King
-
Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraudSouth Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon, who used to call critics cockroaches, faces a long spell in jail after pleading guilty to fraud relating to the collapse of two digital coins
-
The rise of Robin Zeng: China’s billionaire battery kingRobin Zeng, a pioneer in EV batteries, is vying with Li Ka-shing for the title of Hong Kong’s richest person. He is typical of a new kind of tycoon in China
-
Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon leaves behind a toxic legacyOn the left, Nicola Sturgeon is seen as something of a political hero. That makes sense… but only if you exclude her actual record in office
-
Sachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai – the first big bust of the AI boomSachin Dev Duggal's Builder.ai start-up claimed it could use artificial intelligence to build apps. Its revenues turned out to be equally artificial
-
Alex Karp: can Batman save America?The US governing elite needs to take on the bad guys, says Alex Karp, who sees himself as the caped crusader to lead the battle
-
In defence of Donald TrumpOpinion Doom-mongers thought the world would end with the election of Donald Trump. Think again, says Max King
-
Mira Murati: a trailblazer in AI goes it aloneMira Murati fled OpenAI to set up her start-up, Thinking Machines Lab. The firm just raised a record $2bn in a seed funding round and has grand ambitions
-
Ozzy Osbourne: the working-class Brummie who became heavy metal royaltyBlack Sabbath's frontman Ozzy Osborne, the people's 'Prince of Darkness', has died aged 76
