Matthew Pickard, 56, Stephen Greenaway, 47, and Paul Laver, 47, were sentenced to a combined 15 years and nine months in prison, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on 3 September 2026. Pickard received six years for fraudulent trading, Greenaway five years and three months, and Laver four years and six months. All three were also disqualified from acting as directors for ten years.

The SFO told Southwark Crown Court that its investigation into Ethical Forestry Limited found the former directors ran a Bournemouth call centre that cold-called the public and persuaded them to move pension funds into a tree-planting operation in Costa Rica. Employees used false company names without disclosing their employer, investigators found. Trees were planted, but nothing was set aside to maintain or harvest the saplings, so the promised returns could not materialise, the SFO said.

The three had pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading in January earlier this year ahead of a scheduled trial. The SFO said £2.77 million of investor money was diverted to administer a tax avoidance scheme for the directors' benefit. Graham McNulty QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said the three had preyed on people's good intentions to support a 'green' investment and that the guilty pleas resulted in the sentencing.