The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today banned Darren Lee Newton from working in the financial services sector.  The FCA discovered Mr Newton used customers’ money for the purchase of the debt management firm, First Step Finance Limited.  This showed a serious lack of honesty and integrity.  The FCA has decided that he is not a fit and proper person.

Mr Newton purchased First Step, through his company, from Christine Whitehurst and was the sole director between 18 October 2013 and 28 May 2014 of First Step and was a director of another debt management company, Debt Help and Advice Limited.  Mr Newton funded the purchase of First Step from the accounts of First Step, with client money, rather than his own funds.  He directed or allowed £322,500 to be transferred from the First Step accounts to Mrs Whitehurst. Mrs Whitehurst and her husband, Adrian, were banned by the FCA in October 2017 for dishonestly misappropriating money.

Mr Newton knew these monies from First Step should only have been used to pay customers’ creditors or to be returned to customers. He did this when First Step had a significant client money shortfall in its accounts of over £6 million.

The firm went into administration on 28 May 2014 with a shortfall of £7,156,036 from over 4,000 customers.   Customers are not able to recover compensation for their losses from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.