One of the country’s best-known racing magnates has been charged with nine criminal offenses in “one of the biggest frauds ever investigated”.
Wealth manager John Dance allegedly took £64 million of his clients’ money to “fund a lavish lifestyle”, including the purchase of racehorses, according to the financial watchdog.
One of these horses, Bravemansgame, won the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park two years ago, giving the 50-year-old horse one of the top prizes in British racing.
Another horse he bought, Laurens, won six major races and pocketed just under £1.8 million in prize money.
Dance, who is a part-time DJ, is also accused of spending the money on the purchase of a nightclub as well as expensive properties.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was “one of the largest and most serious frauds we have ever investigated” after an investigation that looked at incidents between 2014 and 2023.
In a rags-to-riches story, Dance began his career stuffing envelopes in the mailroom of a stockbroking firm before moving on to work in the London office of swanky US investment bank Merrill Lynch.
He then founded his own company. Dance was the senior partner of the wealth management fund Vertus Asset Management, which was later renamed WealthTek.
John Dance (far left) with his winning horse Laurens alongside jockey PJ McDonald and trainer Karl Burke
Dance allegedly took £64 million of his clients’ money to “fund a lavish lifestyle”, including the purchase of racehorses, according to the financial watchdog.
Dance, who is a part-time DJ, is also accused of spending the money on the purchase of a nightclub as well as expensive properties (pictured with his horse Laurens).
These are advisory services that help wealthy clients preserve their wealth.
His company sponsored major racing events, including the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.
But the FCA launched an investigation in March 2023.
WealthTek was ordered to cease operations and appoint administrators a month later in April 2023.
Dance “laundered the proceeds of his crime through his personal and business bank accounts” for almost a decade, the FCA alleges.
This included allegedly transferring £723,000 to buy six racehorses, including Bravemansgame in 2019.
It also included allegedly taking £806,500 in 2014 and £3.9 million in 2020 to buy residential and commercial properties.
Dance faces three additional charges of dishonestly misrepresenting WealthTek’s regulatory permissions to enable alleged fraud, the FCA said.
He has been released on bail to appear at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on January 3.
John Dance (centre) accepting a trophy in Newmarket after his horse Laurens was the winner
The FCA has said its investigation is “one of the largest and most serious frauds” it has ever investigated (pictured: Dance (left) in Chantilly, France, in June 2018).
Dance faces three counts of fraud by abuse of office, three counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of conversion or transfer of criminal property.
More than eight in ten affected customers are expected to receive full compensation, the watchdog said.
Therese Chambers, deputy executive director of market enforcement and oversight, said: “This is one of the largest and most serious frauds we have ever investigated.”
‘We allege that over many years Mr. Dance diverted millions of client funds for his own benefit, telling lies and falsifying documents to cover his tracks. We know this has been a worrying time for people whose investments were trapped in WealthTek and we have tried to keep everyone informed as best we can, given the criminal nature of the crimes investigated.
“We are pleased that clients are seeing their assets returned to them.”
After the investigation was launched, Dance’s horses were initially banned from competing before the British Horseracing Authority reinstated the permit.
Earlier this year, Dance put 50 of his horses up for sale, including his entry in the Paul Nicholls-trained Bravemansgame.
And his Newcastle city center nightclub, The Loft, where Dance used to DJ, collapsed in July 2023, with 81 jobs lost.