Key facts
- Susan Lawrence sits on Wolverhampton city council's audit and risk committee, which reviews governance and risk management, per the report
- US court documents named HyperVerse an alleged pyramid and Ponzi scheme that cheated investors of $1.89bn
- The FCA warned in 2021 that the HyperVerse firm may have been promoting financial services without permission
- Sam Lee, described as HyperVerse's alleged co-founder, was charged in the US in 2024; he has denied all charges
- A Reform UK spokesperson said Lawrence was a victim who lost her pension and tens of thousands of pounds
Susan Lawrence, a Reform UK councillor on Wolverhampton city council, was one of the main UK promoters of the HyperVerse cryptocurrency scheme, according to a Guardian report published on November 7, 2026. The report states that Lawrence now sits on the authority's audit and risk committee, which independently reviews governance and risk management and oversees financial reporting relating to a multimillion-pound budget.
HyperVerse was named in US court documents as an alleged "pyramid and Ponzi scheme" that cheated investors worldwide out of a "staggering" $1.89bn ($1.41bn), according to the report. The scheme spread through the US and the UK from 2020 to 2022 and also targeted investors in developing countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific before its collapse left many people unable to access funds. In some cases, people who took out bank loans to buy packages in the scheme said they felt suicidal when they were unable to withdraw their money, with some cases of self-harm, the report said.
The report states that Lawrence promoted the HyperVerse scheme, or later variations of it, even after the UK's Financial Conduct Authority issued a consumer warning in 2021 that the firm may have been promoting financial services or products without the regulator's permission. The FCA said: "You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams."
In a 2022 presentation, Lawrence addressed members of the HyperVerse community who were concerned they could no longer access their invested funds, according to the report. She participated in promotional videos and webinars to market the project and recruit new participants, the report said. She is also linked to various other cryptocurrency schemes promoted by HyperVerse's alleged co-founder Sam Lee, an Australian bitcoin entrepreneur who moved to Dubai in 2021. Lee was charged in the US in 2024 with both civil and criminal offences for his role in the HyperVerse schemes; he has denied all charges.
According to the report, Lawrence travelled to Dubai to meet Lee and was filmed promoting two other related investment schemes. She was referred to as a "super leader" for one of Lee's investment platforms called Vidilook. Lawrence continued to promote iterations of the same network, including one later subject to a cease and desist order by US federal authorities, which described it as a "fraudulent pyramid and Ponzi scheme." US authorities said: "It does not sell or purport to sell any actual product and has no apparent source of revenue other than funds received from investors."
Lawrence promoted the schemes alongside Desmond Amey, the scams' key UK-based promoter, the report said. The UK's high court acted to shut down the company used by him to funnel millions of pounds into the platforms. Lawrence did not respond when approached by the Guardian.
A spokesperson for Reform UK said: "Cllr Lawrence was one of many victims of this scam, losing her pension and tens of thousands of pounds on a scheme she believed was genuine. She later became involved with HyperNation in an attempt to recoup the money she had lost. She was not employed by Des Amey and has not been questioned by any authority over her links. Cllr Lawrence has no current involvement in any of these companies or any similar schemes." Reform, which has been under pressure over its vetting processes amid new allegations about the conduct of councillors and candidates, did not respond to a question about whether its vetting team had picked up on Lawrence's background, the report said.