Susan Lawrence sits on Wolverhampton council’s audit and risk committee

Susan Lawrence, a Reform UK councillor on Wolverhampton city council, was one of the main UK promoters of HyperVerse, a cryptocurrency scheme that US court documents describe as an alleged “pyramid and Ponzi scheme” which cheated investors worldwide out of a “staggering” $1.89bn (£1.41bn), the Guardian reported on 7 November. Lawrence now sits on the council’s audit and risk committee, which independently reviews the authority’s governance and risk management and oversees financial reporting relating to a multimillion-pound budget.

HyperVerse 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 their 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.

Lawrence, who has not personally been accused of wrongdoing by authorities, promoted the scheme and later variations of it even after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority issued a consumer warning about the firm in 2021. “You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams,” the regulator said in the warning, which stated that the firm may have been promoting financial services or products without the regulator’s permission. In a 2022 presentation, Lawrence addressed members of the HyperVerse community who were concerned they could no longer access their invested funds.

The Guardian reported that Lawrence took part in lengthy promotional videos and webinars to market the project to the public and recruit new participants, and worked alongside Desmond Amey, whom it identified as the scams’ key UK-based promoter. The UK high court acted to shut down the company Amey used to funnel millions of pounds into the platforms.

Lawrence is also linked to other cryptocurrency schemes promoted by Sam Lee, an Australian bitcoin entrepreneur described as HyperVerse’s alleged co-founder. Lee moved to Dubai in 2021 and 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. Lawrence travelled to Dubai to meet Lee and was filmed promoting two other related investment schemes. She was also referred to as a “super leader” for one of Lee’s platforms, Vidilook — a status that is usually based on how many other people a participant recruits into a scheme.

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”. “It does not sell or purport to sell any actual product and has no apparent source of revenue other than funds received from investors,” the authorities said.

Lawrence did not respond when approached by the Guardian. A Reform UK spokesperson 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.” The party said she “later became involved with HyperNation in an attempt to recoup the money she had lost”. HyperNation is the scheme to which HyperVerse members said they were encouraged to migrate after being unable to withdraw their funds in 2022.

“She was not employed by Des Amey and has not been questioned by any authority over her links,” the spokesperson said. “Cllr Lawrence has no current involvement in any of these companies or any similar schemes.”

Reform, which has been under renewed 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.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be called or texted at 988, or reached online at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is available on 13 11 14, and other international helplines are listed at befrienders.org.