One of the country’s best-known racing magnates has been charged with nine criminal offenses in ‘one of the largest frauds ever investigated’.
Asset manager John Dance is alleged to have taken £64m of client money to ‘fund a lavish lifestyle’ including buying 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 one of the top prizes in British racing.
Another horse he bought, Laurens, won six major races and took home just under £1.8 million in prize money.
Dance, who is a part-time DJ, is also accused of spending the money on purchasing a nightclub and expensive properties.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was ‘one of the most serious and largest frauds we have ever investigated’ after investigating incidents between 2014 and 2023.
In a rags-to-riches story, Dance started his career stuffing envelopes in the mailroom of a brokerage firm before working in the London office of glitzy American investment bank Merrill Lynch.
He went on to start his own business. Dance was lead partner at asset management fund Vertus Asset Management, which later went by the name WealthTek.
John Dance (far left) with his prize-winning horse Laurens next to rider PJ McDonald and trainer Karl Burke
According to the financial watchdog, Dance allegedly used £64 million of client money to ‘fund a lavish lifestyle’ including buying racehorses.
Dance, who is a part-time DJ, is also accused of spending the money on purchasing a nightclub and 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 in 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 the alleged transfer of £723,000 for the purchase of six racehorses, including Bravemansgame in 2019.
It also included a reported £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 facilitate alleged fraud, the FCA said.
He has been released on bail and will appear at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on January 3.
John Dance (centre) collects a trophy at Newmarket after his horse Laurens was the winner
The FCA has said their investigation is ‘one of the most serious and largest frauds’ they have ever investigated (Photo: Dance (left) in Chantilly, France in June 2018)
Dance faces three counts of fraud by abuse of position, three counts of fraud by false representation and three counts of conversion or transfer of criminal property.
More than eight in ten affected clients are expected to be fully compensated, the watchdog said.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market surveillance, said: “This is one of the most serious and largest frauds we have ever investigated.
“We allege that Mr. Dance embezzled millions of clients’ funds for his own benefit over a period of many years, telling lies and falsifying documents to cover his tracks. We know this has been a worrying time for people who had cashed in on their investments in WealthTek and we have tried to keep everyone as informed as possible given the criminal nature of the crimes being investigated.
‘We are happy that customers are now seeing their wealth come back.’
After the investigation was launched, Dance’s horses were initially banned from racing before the British Horseracing Authority restored permission.
Earlier this year, Dance put 50 of his horses up for sale, including his share in the Paul Nicholls-trained Bravemansgame.
And his nightclub in central Newcastle, The Loft, where Dance used to DJ, collapsed in July 2023 – with the loss of 81 jobs.