£70m Tree-Planting Scam: Fraudsters Bought Supercars and Yacht With Cash From Shocking Con

Three fraudsters who used money from a £70 million tree-planting investment scam to fund supercars, luxury homes and a yacht have been jailed, after thousands of investors were left facing devastating losses.

Matthew Pickard, Stephen Greenaway and Paul Laver persuaded about 3,000 people, including many pensioners, to put savings and pension money into Ethical Forestry Ltd, promising substantial returns from tree plantations in Costa Rica.

The BBC reported that the company took £70 million from investors before collapsing in 2015. The three men had previously pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading.

Luxury Lifestyle Funded by Investors

The scale of the spending emerged during sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, where prosecutors described Pickard as the driving force behind the scheme.

Sky News reported that Pickard was sentenced to six years in prison, Greenaway to five years and three months, and Laver to four years and six months. All three were also banned from acting as company directors for 10 years.

Prosecutors told the court that the men collectively took about £14 million from Ethical Forestry. The Serious Fraud Office said a further £2.77 million was diverted to operate a tax avoidance scheme.

Their spending included expensive properties, sports cars, luxury holidays, watches and a yacht. Pickard, 56, took about £8.3 million, according to the SFO, and bought a £4.3 million property in Sandbanks, Dorset. He also spent heavily on renovations, bought a Maserati and paid for private school fees.

Greenaway received about £3 million and bought a £1.9 million home and 26 cars, including three Ferraris, five Porsches and a McLaren. Laver took about £2.5 million and spent the money on 16 cars, holidays, watches and a home cinema.

Investors Promised Returns That Could Never Come

The fraud was built around the promise that investors would profit from growing and harvesting trees in Costa Rica.

According to the SFO, the company cold-called members of the public, offering pension reviews before encouraging them to move their savings into the forestry scheme. Some two million trees were planted, but prosecutors said there was no money set aside to maintain or harvest them. That meant the plantations could not generate the promised returns.

The BBC reported that some investors were persuaded to move pension funds after being contacted by sales staff offering what appeared to be financial advice. One victim, Andrea Panayi, told the BBC she lost £125,000 from a pension pot she had built over 20 years as a bank worker. Another investor put £200,000 into the scheme, Sky News reported.

For victims, the consequences were far removed from the luxury lifestyle enjoyed by the defendants. Some were left without their life savings, while others faced the prospect of losing their homes.

Justice After Years of Investigation

The SFO launched its investigation in 2017, two years after Ethical Forestry collapsed. The agency said its investigation eventually led all three men to plead guilty in January 2026, avoiding a scheduled trial.

SFO Director Graham McNulty said the former directors had preyed on people's desire to support a green investment while stealing money from hard-earned savings and pensions.

The men will now serve prison sentences after a case that exposed how an environmentally themed investment opportunity was used to win the trust of ordinary savers.

The SFO's criminal investigation has concluded, but its proceeds-of-crime case continues as authorities seek to recover assets for victims.