A former Nasa scientist who defrauded investors out of more than £1m has been ordered to hand over more than £655,000 after a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confiscation order. John Burford, 86, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, admitted defrauding 100 investors through his firm Financial Trading Strategies between 2016 and 2021, and was jailed for two years in 2025.
At Southwark Crown Court on Monday, Burford was ordered to pay £655,951.40 – the total value of assets the court found could still be recovered and returned directly to his victims. The FCA said the payment, together with previous payments from Burford to investors, means an estimated 99% of the money originally invested by the roughly 70 known victims will have been returned.
“John Burford, former Nasa scientist jailed for £1m fraud, ordered to pay £655,951 to victims.”
Despite not being authorised to, Burford offered trade alerts and investment opportunities in "managed funds". But the court heard he generated more than £1m through his illegal schemes while only trading £760,000, most of which was lost. Substantial amounts of investor money were actually used to buy a house, the court heard in June 2025.
Burford, who holds a PhD in physics from the University of Toronto, worked for Nasa in its manned Mars exploration team based in Washington D.C. before moving into finance, according to his author biography on a publisher's website. The FCA said he repeatedly misled investors about fund performance, concealed losses and used their money for personal gain.
Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Mr Burford scammed investors to fund his own lavish lifestyle. Clawing back stolen money from fraudsters and returning it to victims sends a clear message that crime doesn't pay."