Jet, Villa and Missing Millions: New Claims Surface in 79th Group Case Linked to Formby Family

A major new development has emerged in the investigation into the 79th Group, the collapsed investment network run by the Webster family from Formby, and now suspected of operating one of the UK’s largest Ponzi-style schemes. According to The Times, a High Court judge has issued a £38 million worldwide freezing order against individuals connected to the business, requiring them to reveal full details of their assets, financial transactions and the movement of investor funds. They have also been told to surrender their passports as investigators attempt to trace what happened to more than £200 million owed to investors.

The latest update published by The Times reveals that administrators have identified spending which they say raises serious concerns about how investors’ money was being used. Among the items now under scrutiny is the purchase of a Learjet 55 — believed to have cost around £3 million — alongside additional money reportedly spent on refurbishment.

Investigators have also traced payments connected to the rental of a luxury Caribbean villa. These discoveries form part of a much wider financial network involving more than 100 linked companies, spread across numerous jurisdictions, and over 130 different bank accounts.

Multiple insolvency firms involved in the case have told investors that the flow of funds shows what they describe as the “hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme”, where returns paid to earlier investors appear to have come from money deposited by newer investors, rather than from genuine profits generated by business activities. Investors had been sold high-interest loan notes offering returns of up to 15%, said to be backed by UK property developments, international mining ventures, aviation assets and even a proposed £250 million holiday resort in North Wales. Administrators now say there is no evidence that these projects could ever have produced the returns investors were promised, and some assets appear to have been over-valued or not developed as described.

City of London Police have confirmed that four people have been arrested in connection with the investigation, with officers seizing luxury watches, jewellery and cash. All four were questioned and released on bail while enquiries continue. Administrators warn that thousands of investors across the UK and overseas may now face losing their savings, and that attempts to recover funds could take years due to the scale and complexity of the financial structures involved.

The new information published by The Times yesterday paints an increasingly troubled picture. The freezing order aims to prevent assets being moved while investigators unravel the group’s financial dealings and attempt to identify what can be recovered for creditors. The case also raises further questions about how the operation remained active for so long, why banks continued to process large transactions, and whether regulators should have intervened earlier.

The Webster Family

For many in the Formby community, the allegations have been especially shocking. The Webster family, long associated with significant business ventures and an image of high financial success, had built an extensive profile both locally and internationally. The latest revelations suggest that behind that public image, the company’s finances were under severe strain, with investors’ money disappearing into a complex web of transactions, luxury spending and failed projects — a picture that investigators are still trying to untangle.