Fake UK Touchstone Exploration bidder gets suspended sentence

By Kirstin Ridley

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A British investor who orchestrated a bogus £154 million ($207 million) bid for oil and gas producer Touchstone Exploration was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence by a London court on Tuesday.

Christopher Woolcott, 44, met Touchstone's CEO in a London hotel under a false name, invented different identities and forged takeover documents using ChatGPT in the hope of driving up the company's share price and securing as much as £70,000 in profit, the Financial Conduct Authority said.

The sentencing comes after the FCA warned that smaller London-listed companies were being targeted by fake investor takeover approaches and other manipulative schemes, urging corporate directors and advisers to carry out due diligence.

Southwark Crown Court Judge Usha Karu labelled the plot deliberate, sophisticated and planned, ordering Woolcott to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £4,627.73. His two-year prison sentence is suspended for two years.

A lawyer for Woolcott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SPEEDY INVESTIGATION

Following a one-and-a-half-year FCA investigation, Woolcott pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and three counts of forgery in September.

Touchstone, which listed on London's junior AIM market in 2017 and is not under investigation, declined to comment.

In its primary market bulletin, last updated on November 6, the FCA urged directors of listed companies and their advisers to ensure they understood who investors were, confirm any investment offer was genuine, review investors' track record for similar deals — and report any concerns to the regulator.

"Anyone tempted to manipulate our markets should know that we are fully committed to identifying, investigating and taking action against those who seek to break the law," said Therese Chambers, the FCA's head of enforcement and market oversight.

($1 = 0.7437 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley. Editing by Mark Potter)