Two individuals sentenced to a combined 12 years for £1.5m crypto fraud

Between February 2017 and June 2019, Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, cold-called victims and sold fake investments in crypto. At least 65 investors were defrauded and lost £1,541,799.

Mr Bedi has today (Friday 4 July) been sentenced by his Honour Judge Griffiths sitting at Southwark Crown Court to 5 years and 4 months and Mr Mavanga has been sentenced to 6 years and 6 months.

Confiscation proceedings are continuing to recover the benefit from the crimes of both defendants.

In sentencing, His Honour Judge Griffiths remarked that Mr Bedi and Mr Mavanga ‘were both leading players in a conspiracy whereby the victims of the fraud were persuaded to invest in crypto currency consultancy’ and ‘you conspired to drive a coach and horses through the regulatory system.’

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: 

‘Bedi and Mavanga ruthlessly defrauded dozens of innocent victims, and it is right that they have received these prison sentences. Criminals need to be clear that there is a cost to committing crime and we will seek to make them pay.' 

Notes to editors

1. Raymondip Bedi’s date of birth is 09 October 1989.
2. Patrick Mavanga’s date of birth is 24 November 1984.   
3. The FCA has attempted to contact investors who lost out. Anyone who was scammed by Bedi and Mavanga and has not heard from the FCA should call 0800 111 6768 or email [email protected]. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.
4. The FCA’s ScamSmart campaign provides advice on how to spot and avoid investment scams.
5. The successful prosecution of Bedi and Mavanga follows several other positive results for the FCA in court. In June, it secured convictions against Redinel Korfuzi and Oerta Korfuzi[3]. The Upper Tribunal upheld three FCA decisions against Jes Staley[4], Craig Donaldson and David Arde[5]n, and Diego Urra, Jorge Lopez Gonzalez and Poojan Sheth[6]. It also follows recent successful criminal prosecutions for insider dealing against Matthew and Nikolas West[7], and a guilty plea from John Burford for a £1m investor fraud scheme[8].
6. Mr Bedi had previously pleaded guilty to 4 charges on 2 May 2023. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and money laundering offences at an earlier hearing.  
7. Mr Mavanga pleaded guilty to 3 charges on 9 June 2023. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to breach the general prohibition under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and possession of false identification documents with an improper intention at an earlier hearing. Mr Mavanga was also convicted of perverting the course of justice on 7 November 2024 for the deletion of phone call recordings following the arrest of Raymondip Bedi in March 2019.  
8. The sentencing was made up as follows:
   - Bedi was sentenced to 5 years for conspiracy to commit fraud, 4 months for conspiracy to breach the general prohibition, to run consecutive to the 5 years, and 2 years for each of possession of criminal property and conversion of criminal property – both to run at the same time as the 5 years and 4 months.
   - Mavanga was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months for conspiracy to commit fraud and then 6 months of a previous suspended sentence was activated to run consecutive to that, 4 months for conspiracy to breach the general prohibition, to run consecutive to the 6 years 2 months, and 12 months for possession of false identification documents with an improper intent and 9 months for perverting the course of justice – both to run at the same time as the 6 years and 6 months.
9. Find out more information about the FCA[9].