A Reform UK councillor who sits on the audit and risk committee of a major city council was one of the main UK promoters of a collapsed cryptocurrency scheme described in US court documents as an alleged "pyramid and Ponzi scheme" that defrauded investors of $1.89 billion.

Susan Lawrence, a Reform UK councillor on Wolverhampton City Council, promoted HyperVerse, which spread through the US and the UK from 2020 to 2022 and targeted investors in developing countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Its collapse left many unable to access their funds, and the Guardian reported that some victims were left suicidal.

Ms Lawrence now sits on the council's audit and risk committee, which reviews governance and risk management and oversees financial reporting for a multimillion-pound budget. She promoted the scheme alongside Desmond Amey, its key UK-based promoter, and kept promoting HyperVerse or later variations even after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority warned consumers the firm may have been promoting financial services without permission.

She has not personally been accused of wrongdoing by the authorities. Reform UK said she was herself one of many victims of the scam, losing her pension and tens of thousands of pounds on a scheme she believed was genuine. The party said she later joined a successor project, HyperNation, to try to recoup her losses, and that she was not employed by Mr Amey, has not been questioned by any authority, and has no current involvement in these companies or similar schemes.

HyperVerse co-founder Sam Lee was charged in the US in 2024 with civil and criminal offences related to the schemes; he denies the charges. Reform UK did not answer a question about whether its candidate vetting process had flagged Ms Lawrence's background.

[Source: europesays.com](https://www.europesays.com/3358376/) | [Source: kucoin.com](https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/uk-councillor-promoted-alleged-1-9bn-hyperverse-scheme-now-sits-on-city-audit-committee)