The Private Office of John Bernard

September 14, 2020

Due Diligence That Money Can’t Buy

This post was originally published on this siteMost of us automatically put our guard up when someone we don’t know promises something too good to be true. But when the too-good-to-be-true thing starts as our idea, sometimes that instinct fails to kick in. Here’s the story of how companies searching for investors to believe in their ideas can run into trouble. Nick is an investment banker who runs a firm that helps raise capital for its clients (Nick is not his real name, and like other investment brokers interviewed in this story spoke with KrebsOnSecurity on condition of anonymity). Nick’s […]
September 25, 2020

Who is Tech Investor John Bernard?

This post was originally published on this siteJohn Bernard, the subject of a story here last week about a self-proclaimed millionaire investor who has bilked countless tech startups, appears to be a pseudonym for John Clifton Davies, a U.K. man who absconded from justice before being convicted on multiple counts of fraud in 2015. Prior to his conviction, Davies served 16 months in jail before being cleared of murdering his wife on their honeymoon in India. The Private Office of John Bernard, which advertises itself as a capital investment firm based in Switzerland, has for years been listed on multiple […]
October 7, 2020

Promising Infusions of Cash, Fake Investor John Bernard Walked Away With $30M

This post was originally published on this siteSeptember featured two stories on a phony tech investor named John Bernard, a pseudonym used by a convicted thief named John Clifton Davies who’s fleeced dozens of technology companies out of an estimated $30 million with the promise of lucrative investments. Those stories prompted a flood of tips from Davies’ victims that paint a much clearer picture of this serial con man and his cohorts, including allegations of hacking, smuggling, bank fraud and murder. KrebsOnSecurity interviewed more than a dozen of Davies’ victims over the past five years, none of whom wished to […]
May 7, 2021

Investment Scammer John Davies Reinvents Himself?

This post was originally published on this siteJohn Bernard, a pseudonym used by a convicted thief and con artist named John Clifton Davies who’s fleeced dozens of technology startups out of an estimated $30 million, appears to have reinvented himself again after being exposed in a recent investigative series published here. Sources tell KrebsOnSecurity that Davies/Bernard is now posing as John Cavendish and head of a new “private office” called Hempton Business Management LLP. John Davies is a U.K. man who absconded from justice before being convicted on multiple counts of fraud in 2015. Prior to his conviction, Davies served […]