Reform UK councillor promoted collapsed $1.9bn ‘Ponzi scheme’ HyperVerse that left victims suicidal
Susan Lawrence, elected to Wolverhampton city council, sits on committee overseeing financial reporting of multimillion-pound budget A woman who promoted a notorious cryptocurrency scam has been elected as a Reform UK councillor and now sits on the audit and risk committee of a major city council. Susan Lawrence was one of the main UK promoters of the HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme, which was…
Susan Lawrence, a newly elected Reform UK councillor, has been appointed to the audit and risk committee of Wolverhampton city council. The committee oversees financial reporting for the council's multimillion-pound budget. Lawrence is linked to the HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme, which was described by prosecutors as a "pyramid and Ponzi scheme" that defrauded investors worldwide of $1.89 billion.
The scheme operated in the US and the UK from 2020 to 2022, and also targeted investors in developing countries in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. Many victims resorted to taking bank loans to invest in the scheme, leading to feelings of suicidal despair when they were unable to access their funds due to the scheme's collapse. Lawrence played a significant role in promoting the HyperVerse scheme, even after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning in 2021 about potential non-compliance with regulatory standards.
Despite this, Lawrence continued to participate in promotional materials, webinars, and videos to market the scheme. She also connected with the scheme's co-founder, Sam Lee, who was charged in the US in 2024 with both civil and criminal offences related to the HyperVerse schemes. Lawrence was filmed promoting other related investment schemes and was referred to as a "super leader" for one of Lee's platforms called "Vidilook."
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