The full story of a former charity boss who stole from a disabled charity’s pension scheme to fund his own lifestyle has been published today (Tuesday) by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
The regulatory intervention report (RIR) shows how Patrick McLarry, the chief executive of Yateley Industries for the Disabled, used pension scheme funds to buy properties in the UK and France and invest in an antiques business owned by his wife.
On 10 February 2020, McLarry, 72, from Bere Alston, Devon, was sentenced to five years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for eight years.
TPR then began confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to recover the money he had misappropriated in the fraud.
On 4 September 2020, he was ordered to pay £286,852 back to the scheme, to compensate members for the sums he stole adjusted to account for inflation.
In February 2021, he was stripped of his MBE after TPR gave evidence to the Honours Committee.
Nicola Parish, TPR’s Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, said: “Today’s report is a lesson to all would-be pension fraudsters. TPR is at the ready to use our powers to bring criminals like Patrick McLarry to justice and, where possible, return scheme members’ stolen savings. TPR, working with colleagues from other regulators and law enforcement agencies, will pursue criminals who exploit others’ hard-earned savings for their personal gain.
“Whistleblowers were pivotal to the success of this case. We remind trustees, advisers and scheme members who have suspicions or concerns about the way their workplace pension is being run that they can contact us via the whistleblowing form on our website.”
Notes for Editors
- Read the full regulatory intervention report
- The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) sets out the legislative scheme for the recovery of money from criminal conduct following a confiscation investigation. Confiscation occurs after a conviction has taken place. The aim is to deny criminals the benefit of their criminal conduct, recover the proceeds of crime and disrupt and deter criminality.
- TPR is the regulator of work-based pension schemes in the UK. Our statutory objectives are: to protect members’ benefits; to reduce the risk of calls on the Pension Protection Fund; to promote, and to improve understanding of, the good administration of work-based pension schemes; to maximise employer compliance with automatic enrolment duties; and to minimise any adverse impact on the sustainable growth of an employer (in relation to the exercise of the regulator’s functions under Part 3 of the Pensions Act 2004 only).
