Advice firm employees plead guilty after defrauding clients of £2m

Two people who worked at financial advice firms have pleaded guilty to fraud after four clients lost £2 million.

Kerry Nelson, the director of Nexus Independent Financial Advisers and Nexus Investment Managers, and Jacqueline Stephens, the firms’ business operations manager, admitted all charges brought by the FCA at Portsmouth Crown Court.

They admitted defrauding clients between January 2019 and January 2023 and using false documents as part of the fraud. 

Nelson has also admitted a money laundering offence after money was withdrawn from the firms, which the FCA says she used to "fund her extravagant lifestyle".

Nelson and Stephens will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on 10th December 2026. The FCA will also seek confiscation proceedings to deprive Kerry Nelson of any financial benefit from her criminal conduct. 

Therese Chambers, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “This was a serious breach of trust. Nelson and Stephens caused significant losses to clients who relied on them.

"We will continue to act where people exploit clients for their own gain.”