Stuart Garner has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence. The former Norton boss pleaded guilty earlier this year in the lawsuit over the pension fraud in the three pension plans “Dominator 2012, Commando 2012 and Donington MC”.
Stuart Garner faced a prison term of up to 2 years in the lawsuit over the pension fraud, which dragged on for years. In June 2020, Garner had already been ordered by the British ombudsman to pay back £14million to duped pension fund holders, whose pension money had been used to save Norton from bankruptcy.
Initially, Garner insisted he had no idea the money had been obtained fraudulently, but pleaded guilty on February 7. The court is said to have ruled on February 28, but according to the court, the case was too complex and more time was needed to reach a verdict.
The judge has now sentenced Garner to a suspended 8-month jail term, with a 2-year probation, meaning he won’t have to go to jail – unless he commits another offense within the next 2 years.
The judge said in her ruling that Garner had caused real problems for the people who had invested in the retirement plans.
“This is not just financial damage,” the judge said. “I’ve read statement after statement about the trauma you’ve wrought in the lives of ordinary people who thought they were investing in their future.”
“Many of them talked about broken relationships, serious ill health and the fact that they had to face the misery of having to work much longer than they planned because of the financial damage you caused.”
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.