This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Superstar FX Trader Whiz-kid Nothing But A Superspending Ponzi Fraud
Who can forget the amazing story of Alex Hope which was all the rage two years ago? Actually considering how short reader, institutional and certainly vacuum tube memories have become, perhaps everyone. So here is a reminder.
The UK's Daily Mirror newspaper has uncovered the FX trader who dropped over $300k in a Scouse club. It is a 23-year old 'self-taught' barrow-boy named (somewhat ironically in our view) Alex Hope. Self-described as "talented (three years in and a six-figure salary, hhmm), charismatic (its amazing how much 'charisma' a GBP125k bottle of bubbly will buy), and thoroughly likeable (ditto) man. Alex Hope exudes knowledge..." and is willing to share it with you according to his website. How did he become this B.S.D. of the FX markets? "I took two months off my job at Wembley, got really obsessed with reading charts and got the guts to start trading properly." This self-made rosy-cheeked young man with a penchant for mind-numbingly-arrogant-looking photos on his website may have just become the poster boy for all that is 'great' about the free market...
And the obligatory shot of a pensive trader next to many screens with his thumb on his chin, which is supposed to give him more credibility:
Actually, as it turns out, Alex' "success" had little if anything to do with the perversion and idiocy of what Bernanke and central-planning crew have done to the capital markets (which do their best to encourage daily trading perfection by such specimens as Virtu algos, Bank of America's Calcutta trading desk and the E*trade baby), and everything to do with a certain Italian who arrived in the US in 1903, only to take the world of financial criminals, Keynesians and central bankers by storm: one Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi.
Because as it turns out young master Hope, who struck the proverbial gold at the tender age of 23, was nothing more than the latest Ponzi schemer whose only success in life was finding the absolute, and quite rich, idiots who believed his lies. Well, that, and being able to transform himself from a catering manager working at Wembley Stadium into an FX trader.... even if a fake, criminal and absolutely terrible FX trader. Daily Mail reports:
A catering manager who posed as a City whizzkid to run a £5.6million Ponzi fraud spent £2million on champagne, nightclubs and casinos, a court heard yesterday.
Alex Hope, 25, told investors he could make them a fortune from foreign exchange trades. But the ‘City high-flier’ was in reality a former catering manager at Wembley Stadium.
He used the cash from investors as his ‘personal piggy-bank’, spending £125,000 on a single bottle of champagne – a Nebuchadnezzar, which holds 15 litres – Southwark Crown Court heard.
He repaid them using cash from new investors in the fraudulent Forex scheme.
So, nothing more than a young apprentice of the likes of Bernie Madoff and Ben Bernanke. But who can blame him?
Here's a before picture:

and after:

Because obviously all it takes to fool rich, easily-swayed idiots is a guy chugging hundreds of thousands of dollars in booze and hanging out with bobos. No, really:
Hope frittered away almost £1million in casinos and racked up bar bills of £500,000 mixing with stars at exclusive nightclubs after he reinvented himself as a Forex trader.
He boasted of his rags to riches story in the Daily Telegraph in May 2011, claiming he made his fortune after reading a book on how to trade currencies during his commute to Wembley.
Prosecutor Sarah Clarke said: ‘He promised investors and potential investors huge returns. In truth this was not a real trading scheme at all... it was a classic Ponzi fraud. He used their funds as his personal piggy-bank. A massive amount was spent on himself.’
‘The investors who put in the money in good faith had no idea this was happening.’
The jury heard that Hope paid a PR company £3,000 a month to promote his image as a successful trader.
He bragged about his financial wizardry, claiming he made £600 profit on his first day of trading the dollar against sterling and in only two and a half months his initial £500 stake had grown to £2,500.
Jurors were played a showreel video of Hope in which he boasted of his success saying: ‘You don’t get many young people working in the City doing what I do. I like to do a lot for people – I’m not doing this just to make money for my business but also to create jobs for others.’ The film, produced by his cohort Raj Von Badlo, was uploaded on YouTube in February 2012 while Hope was trading losses of £500,000 and had liabilities of nearly £2million.
And so on.
But his most impressive success? "Hope got through £2million in the 13 months before his arrest in early 2012." That somehow between PR clips, photo shoots, and hypnotizing new clients with his unambiguous "charm and likability", he managed to blow through over $3 million in just over a year is truly a commendable achievement, all else being equal.
- 30392 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -



What a fag.
What a good post. I'm glad you were able to get the first one. I'm going to give you a like so maybe you can fall asleep a bit easier tonight.
You know you're finally a Wall Street success story when you can take a selfie at a party with a drunken whore.
Whizz kids?
"These financial criminals are just in the minority like the terrorists." They are just capitalists.
You know who clearly is the smartest in the room are the strippers, hosts, and other bimbos at these clubs. You can tell them what ever you want about how you made your fortune, and they could care less. As long as you are buying overpriced booze, which translates to commissions for them, they will dance with you and pose for pictures. As soon as you're broke, they move on to the next millionaire. Now THAT is smart in action.
looks christian for a refreshing change
There must be some mistake, that guy is my financial advisor...
Looks like the dude has a hard on in the 2nd photo. What will he tell his 300 lb cell mate in jail when he has a hard on?
so, are we enter-tainted, yet?
Mind fxxking is such a big job, no?
One thing people forgot was that this guys twitter had a nice steady stream of re-tweets from zerohedge..
Does this mean PR firms associate "Successful Traders" with zerohedge? Or that knowing about zerohedge and re-tweeting their posts is a sign of financial understanding.
Either way I find this highly amusing and interesting, afterall we are just a bunch of right wing crazy conspiracy theorists.
I think it is their pimps that are the smartest.
Most cunning, rather than smartest: ultimately, pimps live shitty lives trying to maintain their domination and use all the people around them, and hence none of them are happy. How smart is that?
Damnit! I missed out again - or is his fund still open?
Sounds like...yes it is, I'm sure it is, yes the sound of a nail gun going off.
Hey look, a lefty suggesting that capitalism is criminal........sounds so typical to me.
Great legs though, she can wrap her claws around my hot flagon anytime she wants.
And, with the size of her lips she probably knows how to guzzle a jizz or two of the bubbly.
at least the hooker's honest in her trade.
"I don't pay them for sex, I pay them to leave"
- Charlie Sheen
All the money in the world won't make you attractive or your dick any less miniscule.
I think that's what makes these assholes so molevolent. The game promises what it can't deliver.
I'm not sure. If you're rich and get a ton of action do you really care if you're ugly or have a small dick?
uhh, yeah. do you think human nature goes out the window because of a few benjamins?
Wherever you go- there you are. Every millimeter.
Actually, human nature responds very well to cash moreso than a big dick.
I've tested this, actually.
In Japan.
Now, I could tell you the details, but a big dick ... after the initial wow factor ... proved a liability.
Cash?
Never.
do you think human nature goes out the window because of a few benjamins?
I'm pretty damn sure of it.
No, Greed and envy is part of human nature, so you're wrong. Let me tell you something, owning a big hard dick and a brain to control and know how to use it goes a long way in building relationships. It's a manly gift, I'm saying this in my most worldly sense.
Well congrats on your big hard dick but my point was that I don't think being ugly and small keeps them up at night or stops them from enjoying their money. That kind of insecurity is usually resolved by then...
As a real man, you inherently know your power despite all the BS in our media driven culture. You want a chick that knows and wants you for who you truly are. She knows it, you know it. Money can't buy this.
Well said, Harbanger. I'm tripping over my own dick here- trying to reply and entertain my kid at the same time, but that says it about as well as it can be said.
The game promises what it can't deliver.
Real human beings know that what's between their ears is more important than what's between their legs.
Yes, when they overcome their worldliness and walk with God, logicalman.
sigh.... Sure some skanky hoes will line up to suck your small dick and spend your money. I'm talking about the psychological effects of knowing this.
further reading: George Carlin "The Bigger Dick Foreign Policy"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2235103/Mans-genitals-removed-bi...
damn..... these guys need to learn some self love.
Anyone who actually has a big dick will know that it's a liability and not a blessing.
You've been watching too much porn.
You know you're finally a Wall Street success story when you can take a selfie at a party with a drunken whore.
Was Blythe Masters at that party?
No, this one was in London not Wall Street.
Blythe who?
mongo thinks thats a thai lady boy, but no judging from mongo :-)
Actually Mongo a bit of online research indicates that the "lady" is one Layla Flaherty, a mixed-race Irish "scripted reality show star"...30 yo, 5'-11", and just a wee bit on the wild side...
I guess in his mind I'll go out with a bang and enjoy life with other people money.
Let me save you the trouble of googling this mofo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyK3Z2NSWKQ
THE ENTIRE MARKET IS A PONZI THX TO THE FED & GOV.....this fatso is small time when u compare him to the real fraudsters like Bernanki, Yellen, Dimon et al.
How Come people are always listing tribe members?
ask Barry and maybe even f_s -- oh wait...
Nothing more need be said.
I wonder which cost more.....the bottle of champagne or that whore in the picture ?
What cost the most was how much he had to pay her to shove that bottle up her twat, then give him a Puss shot. Thats was big dollars
What Harley Motorcycle riders have to do with this?
Actually, in the first photo he's pinching himself really hard so as not to break out laughing.
Yeah, pinching his butthole around the cock jammed up his ass.
"The Best and the Brightest'.....
The only difference between this guy and Jamie Dimon is that Jamie spent some of his ill-gotten loot on politicians.
I have no problem with this kid. if people are stupid enough to decide to give him money I don't see what the big deal is. This is like TMZ for financial news. It's crap.
Scam du jour. lol. A fool and his money are soon parted.
LOL...Is there really any difference between this guy and John Corzine? BTW...Free The Honorable John Corzine!
It's definitely selective enforcement of the law. They always go after the easy pickings.
The investors will lose everything -- it's not like he left anything to recover in lawsuits. That's where Jamie also has him beat. If investors sued JPM for fraud and won, we'd all have to cover the losses. That's why Jamie is richer than us. Next man makes a move and... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGVY-HO7w9s
bobos? drunken whore?
Hey, that's my seester!
Heh so much money blown and the bitch is still sub-standard. This boy is not winning, not at all.
The fact that he can get a slippery hole that doesn't weigh 600lbs to hang out with him at all is a start.
Just Living The Dream!
Well, there are good Ponzi schemers like Madoff, and then there's this one. What a blowtard.
The game is rigged. He never had a chance.
this story brought a tear to my eye. heartwarming.
may there be 100 more. People deserve this untill they learn to buy a few gold bars here and there and stow it away without crazy expectations. Untill then I hope people keep getting burned. badly.
This portly little cherub is gonna be wayyyy too popular in prison.
I like how they portray him as "just a catering manager." As if this discredits him, or makes him less capable. He outsmarted enough people to spend $3 million.
With a little practice he could hold public office.
That's why they're prosecuting him.
They're afraid he'll run for Prime Minister.
Bingo!@
The power of the bullshit is strong in this one.
At least he has better taste in sleezy women than Bill Clinton does.
After a while you get sick of hearing the sob stories of idiots who crooks like this have ripped off.
It's not like there isn't any educational material on this thing called the internet. Stuff that might make you realise if FX is a coinflip for the best, then some chubster no one has ever heard of ain't really killing it.
That fat fuck is going to make someone a good little bitch very soon.
Get used to sucking on things you may not like Hope.
The power of the "farce" was strong in this kids life...How long does he get to stay in Camp Snoopy for?
" and in only two and a half months his initial £500 stake had turned into £2,500 "
Note to self -must try harder.
-I hope he wasn't working full time for that return, sounds a bit like the sustainable energy model, put in a million watts of effort for a kW out the other end
Rick Ross Feat. Styles P - "Blowin Money Fast"Have I lost all my fashion sense or does that blue jacket in the picture with the club slut really suck that fucking bad.
It's the wrong shade of blue. It's also too small so he must have bought it a year before he started guzzling champagne.
sorry but yes you lost it... The club slut looks good at least I wouldn't mind being him.....
At least in that picture.....
How can champagne cost so much?
That's not Boone's Farms, is it?
I'm waiting for the similarities between this story and Obama's MyRA...
Something about the fool, and the greater fool who follows..
Next.
anyone dumb enough to give that fugly cunt money deserves the loss
I see a lot of vindictive, bitter, dare I say it, losers, attacking this kid. In my book, he won, and he won big. He beat a crooked system by out-crooking the crooks. What is there not to love, and a man's choice in whores is no business of anyones.
As a crooked sort of guy he natually went to Wall Street where MORE crooked guys ratted him out for not paying dues.
shit please, this is going on all over manattan. Bloomberg is trying his best to get the guns before the sheeple get their final fleecing.
Was this the Hope and Change Obama was taking about?
He could have gone to the club every night for 2 years partying with the girls but it's gone now and he won't see the inside of a club for at least another 15 months.
Yeah, no kidding. How, exactly, is he not the norm? Or the Bateman model I mean.
is that John Corzine Jr?
love the bbc hooker next to him. lol.
born to be rich
He could run for Mayor in Detroit or New Orleans!!!
Toronto too for that matter. And win.
What's that business about doing do diligence?
Oh, nevermind!!
He is just doing what the big boys are doing with Billions of dollars, the entire economy is a huge ponzi scheme borrowing from the future, unfortunately he is not far enough up the tree to escape punishment.
Champagne Showers...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyK3Z2NSWKQ
FYI, the above video is one of Hope's self-promotional efforts... What's even more amazing than the fact people gave this guy millions is the fact that he is so similar to others in his lame-ass 'City trader' industry - there are tons of losers out there wasting money in all the same ways, and being just as transparently desperate for the attention of coked up bimbos and the patently false image of momentarily purchased 'popularity'.
He fits right in with the Phds and 'experts'.
May he end up with a gold-digger (female or male) that spends all his money and ruins him.
There's a nice tall building waiting for him.
Some could argue he never stole anything of value.
Well, he DID put the money at work, which was v. good for the economy... /sarc
His new passion is going to be rough anal prison sex. You're no Bernanke kid.
His only problem is that he was not Too Big To Fail yet.
The government will not bail him out, which I think is unfair and needs to be explained.
He should invest in a new shiny nailgun.
His taste for hookers is on par with his knowledge of the markets. Correlation?
I feel bad for any kids out there named Ponzi who wish to get into banking. Better change your name to Shalom or something. Schwab is a good one too. "People call me Schwab. Charles Schwab."
yahooohooo! i did remember him and his 300'000 spending in the club with champagne in London.
well, i have an excellent memory indeed. hum hum.
This assclown looks exactly like the retard that was trying to sound important at the holiday party with his bitcoin trading last Christmas.
He's fit right in at the Fed but,he also qualifies for the trading desk at JP Morgan.