Mark Cotter Q.C. has just concluded his first case in silk for the prosecution. Mark led Stephen Hopper of 5 Paper Buildings in a ten-week trial heard at Isleworth Crown Court. Mark and Stephen were instructed by the Specialist Fraud Division of the CPS to prosecute the case of R v. Fallon.
Mr. Fallon, a Forex Trader, persuaded people to part with sums of money, large and small, to be invested in purported “off market” gold trading schemes. Mr. Fallon defrauded numerous people by this method, in some cases taking entire life savings. The scheme was launched off the back of a legitimate Forex spot trading company.
Isleworth Crown Court heard Mr. Fallon used a loan note system, which purported to give him authority to use the money as he wished.
Whilst Mr. Fallon gave reassurances to his victims that he was making money for them, he was, in fact, spending their savings on lavish living. On the 5th October 2017, Mr. Fallon was sentenced to imprisonment for 7 years and was disqualified from being a company director.
Mark Cotter Q.C. took silk in 2017, following a highly successful career as a junior specialising in serious and heavy crime (both for the prosecution and the defence). He undertakes a significant amount of private defence work and has, for many years, been ranked in Chambers and Partners as a leader in the field of crime at the London Bar. Mark is also ranked in the Legal 500 as a leading individual in the field of crime at the London Bar.