Ethical Investors Targeted In Green Energy Investment Scam

• Ethical investment company targeted by scammers
• Clone style attack follows a rush of cash into the sector
• Traders are left wondering how to safely invest and still make a difference

Increased demand for ethical investments looks to play a part in making the world a better place. But any influx of new money also catches the eye of scammers. Unscrupulous fraudsters are targeting high-profile firms in a worryingly impressive cloning scam.

Scammers Turn To The Ethical Investments Market

It’s easy to see why scammers are targeting ethical investors. More than $500bn flowed into ESG-integrated funds in 2021. That represents a 55% growth in assets in the sector, and with a shift to a low-carbon economy underway, that trend looks set to continue.

It’s good news for investors, who can match financial gains to ‘doing the right thing’, but bad news for those who get caught out by scams. It’s not just the scale of investment in the sector that is notable. Another feature is that it attracts first-time investors to the financial markets – individuals who have for some time held off buying shares because of the negative side-effects of firms which have until now adopted overly aggressive business models.

The irony is that just as some investors are getting over the bump of buying in stocks, they’re being caught out by fraudsters whom even the free-market proponents abhor.

Corriegarth Wind Energy – Investment Scam

With the ESG sector growing at an incredible rate, investors are advised to take extreme caution. Using one of these trusted brokers is an excellent first step if you are backing firms with more ethical business models. But one scam has already been identified and can be marked as one to avoid.

Legitimate company Greencoat UK Wind has been a pioneer of investments in renewable energy. Its various products have even made it to the list of the best renewable energy stocks to buy now. It’s a well-run operation and was quick to point out to investors that one of its products is being cloned by fraudsters.

The complete statement on the company’s site reads:

“The Company has recently been made aware of a purported investment opportunity to acquire securities in “Corriegarth Wind Energy”, documentation for which copies certain facts and figures from documentation that has been issued by the Company. The Company does have a subsidiary called “Corriegarth Wind Energy Limited”, which is a special purpose company which in turn owns the Corriegarth windfarm. However, please note that this company does not and will not issue securities direct to investors.

“You should be aware that this is not a real investment opportunity, and the Company notified the appropriate authorities as soon as this was drawn to the Company’s attention.”

The “appropriate authorities” include the FCA, which has also listed the scam on its blacklist of schemes to avoid.

As the FCA’s site states, the legit company has no links to the scammer. Investing in ethical companies such as Greencoat UK Wind is possible, but there is, as always, a need to avoid falling for the traps laid by scammers.

Crowdsourcing information about scam brokers can help others avoid falling into the traps set by disreputable brokers, and you can share your experiences here. If you would like to know more about this particular topic, or have been scammed by a fraudulent broker, you can also contact us at [email protected]

About the author: Justin Freeman

Justin is an active trader with more than 20-years’ industry experience of working for big banks and hedge funds. He has an inside knowledge of how the financial markets work, thanks to roles including trader on a $750m Event-Arbitrage desk and CRO and COO of hedge funds running a variety of strategies. From stat-arb and trend-following CTA to fixed-income relative value. Firm’s he has worked at include big banks like Citi, and prominent hedge funds including D. E. Shaw and Millennium Capital Management.

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