David Hick and Globalfx Management Trading Ltd:
This website is dedicated to providing factual information for anyone with experience of, or an interest in, investing capital with David Hick through his investment company Globalfx Management Trading Ltd (often referred to, henceforth, as “Globalfx” or “GFX” within the website).
Note (11 May, 2015): CRCD It has come to our attention that the website ( http://crdevelopmentcompany.com ) is run by David Hick, and the information comes to us via a reliable source. If you have come to us by Googling CRDC, we therefore urge you to avoid doing any business at all with this company. It is another scam and you will be parted from your money if you go down this route. Believe us: those of us, now numbered in the dozens, who have experience of David Hick, have had millions of pounds stolen by him.
Anyway, importantly, it is hoped the information offered here can help guide decisions relating to any investment opportunities coming from Mr. Hick or his company, which also has [May, 2015: did have] a telephone answering service in Zurich. It is nothing more than that though – just a number which, when you enquire, promise to pass on messages. Lucky if you get a call back, though, these days! It’s a wonder, many think, that the pretence at established grandeur seems still to be maintained. The Bahnhoffestrasse address, interestingly, appears to have been home to a number acknowledged “Boiler Room scams” – see commentary here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trading-firms/102232-paying-3000-300-pips-month.html.
But whatever your experiences are, we invite you to contact us if you would like to share information for the benefit of others, whether your experience is good or bad. We should mention though, we do require that anything published on this site is confined to verifiable fact or reasonably held opinion. At this stage, now Feb 2015, it must be said there is no good news emerging at all. Hick or others acting for him like to spread rumours that a pay-out is imanent (“just as soon as the Euro Yen drops low enough” — !!!???). But this is viewed by most as a stalling tactic, perhaps to keep the more gullible fooled. But why? He has our money now and it appears does not intend returning it. Why the continued charade, many reasonably wonder. The trades shown on the statements from GFX (which some people still receive) show apparent signs of faking. Of this more anon – we will be setting up a “Trading Anomalies” page very soon.
Please feel free to check out the “Recent History and Latest News” below which is regularly updated, sequentially as the exciting and depressing story unfolds. It is the honest opinion of those whose experiences are written-up here, increasingly since the launch of this website on 8th October 2014, that David Hick and his “company” are avoiding them and do not intend refunding any of their capital. Nearly all have tried phoning their Swiss “office” in recent weeks, or otherwise sent messages asking Mr. Hick to contact them, but no-one has had a reply to date. We will of course let you know if this changes. It is also possible that later contributors will have had different experiences, in which case we will update the site if so informed. Do view the “client experiences” page of this website which gives a general picture of events from the initial opening of several accounts with Globalfx Management Trading Ltd (mostly in 2009) to the present time. And of course contact us if you wish to.
Incidentally, we would be interested if anyone can advise us whether the use of “Ltd” which sometimes appears at the end of the name “GlobalFx Management Trading” refers to an actual company registration anywhere since the business, as far as we understand it, is not registered any longer in the BVI, Switzerland or the United Kingdom.
Really Big Questions – Can You Help?
We are now pretty sure Hick is the same person parading as John Warner, but would like to know beyond doubt. Have you met Mr. Warner and is he the same person you see in the picture above?
We know (within reasonable limits) that Hick is still lying low in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Can anyone give us more precise information?
Matthew Hale worked with Hick in the early days and was a close buddy, we know this much. His name has come up with a number of folks both in our group and from others who have contacted us. Any information on his whereabouts will be gratefully received – he’s a man we (and others) would like to speak to; we think he might be able to cast light on some questions we have. E.g. were any trades ever successfully placed using client funds? Where is all our money now; has it all been spent? —-
Recent History and Latest News
23 Nov. 2014. In general, it is still the case that no-one connected with this website has heard from David Hick, and many contacting us have the same problem, so we are confused as to why GFX is still being advertised. We believe that Hick is avoiding us, owing us as he does, very large sums of money. But simultaneously, it appears that Mr. Hick wishes to attract new clients, since a website advertising the services of GlobalFx Management Trading is still out there. For those interested, here is the address: http://www.global-fx.net:8080/GlobalFX/faces/login.xhtml
Additionally, GlobalFx still appear to operate a website which offers a signals service. For those interested, here is the link: GFXSignals.com. Contributors to this website (davidhick.net) were told historically that GFX Signals give the same trades in real time as those traded within the managed forex accounts of GFX. Thanks to a contributor for reminding us of this connection, and we hope to expand on this shortly.
On a slightly different topic, we have some questions concerning the contacts (sales people and directors) various clients have had over time with GFX. In particular, it’s of note that some clients have never heard of David Hick, but speak of John Warner and Matthew Hale. [See above “Really Big Questions” – 15 Feb 2015] On close inspection, it seems the descriptions of David Hick and John Warner are close – both around 5 ft 10 with brown hair and southern English accents (based on client information from “investment” meetings here in the UK); both individuals apparently living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. These comparisons do make us wonder if these two are in fact the same person; though it’s of course possible they are genuinely different individuals. Any information which might cast light on this would be helpful, so if you can tell us anything, please let us know via the contact tab. This could all prove helpful in the investigation which, as now seems inevitable in our view, will be under way shortly by the FCA. [12 Feb 2015 – now underway] It does seem likely, however, that if Hick and Warner are the same person, then the latter is probably the adopted name, since we know that Hick has relatives here in the UK. On which point, it’s also of interest that certain Skype conversations with Hick last year, at a time when clients could speak with him, were traced to UK I/P addresses; it may therefore be that Hick is spending more time in the UK than we realised – which may make his arrest, should the authorities decide to follow this course of action, easier come the time.
30 Nov. 2014. More than two weeks ago, notice was served on Hick/ GFX on behalf of the group of clients whose court claim was upheld in October (see the page”A Legal case Against Hick”). This was a final demand for payment which again has been ignored, leaving the group no option but to take the issues of non-payment by GFX to the FCA. Our understanding is that since the Commercial Court ruled that GFX does by law fall under UK jurisdiction, and having upheld our claim, it is likely to mean the FCA will take our case very seriously. Sadly, we may be unable to publish much on the case itself once the process is under way, since we will not want to prejudice the inquiry. We will however, continue to update the site with new information as long as the FCA inquiry is unlikely to be affected by it.
Whatever the route you may have taken to reach this website, whether you are in touch with Hick or [we now know them to be the same person as of early 2015 ] Warner, we hope sincerely that before making any investment decisions, you will look over the information we offer here. As time passes, we hear from more and more people who have invested in GFX and who now are realising they have lost everything. You need to ask yourself, if you are considering investing (or further investing) with Hick, Warner or any company they represent, do you really wish to take on that risk as well?
The issue of the CFD trades has come to our attention again recently, and the question being asked more than ever now, is whether that chapter (see client experiences) was a means by which GFX could fabricate losses and therefore reduce the level of client funds properly belonging to investors. The fact that Robert Mathewson (the CFD “guru” working on this with GFX) is unknown as a trader to experts we’ve spoken with who would have heard of him; the fact there was no apparent brokerage by which the CFDs were supposedly traded; and the fact the trades were managed (they were incredibly volatile) in such a way that losses were pretty much a given …. all this is suggesting, we believe, that the actions by GFX and Hick, if they were not so originally (perhaps in the early days), have now become fraudulent and criminal.
Accordingly, the authorities are now collating the history of many GFX clients – a criminal investigation is under way. As one person said, who has many years’ experience of Hick, once a person moves from trying to run a legitimate business across to defrauding his clients, it’s a dark place to be and incredibly hard to get back from. A number of contacts wonder how Hick/Warner sleeps at night, which implies the has some kind of moral conscience. Others have expressed the view he is simply psychopathic by nature and feels no shame at stealing from his clients. We of course are completely neutral on this point.
4 Feb. 2015. At this stage, we can only report that many people have come forward with similar stories concerning GFX. Either they have had Hick as their contact, or alter ego Warner, and it seems neither group has encountered both. As we now are pretty certain Warner and Hick are the same person, it’s perhaps unsurprising the two client camps don’t overlap! And it appears the pattern of experience of GFX is much the same across the board. Clients typically have gone through the following stages:
1. Introduction to an investment opportunity with GFX made plausible by the professionalism of the operation – e.g. websites, signals and apparent real-time trades. In fact, many people believe that during 2009 – early 2012, GFX was in fact a “real” and properly managed fund.
2. Typically, folks withdraw part of their funds and are encouraged by this, often then investing more in the operation, until…..
3. Things start going wobbly, mostly around late 2012, with announcements that funds are to be withheld until problem positions with (mostly) the Euro Yen sort themselves out. These positions should never have been kept open had investors’ risk profiles and (supposedly legally binding) Trading Agreements been adhered to.
4. At around this time, numerous clients of Hick (we believe this doesn’t apply to alter ego Warner’s clients) were lulled into the probably bogus CFD trades. It’s now firmly believed by many these were a scam intended to appear to wipe out client accounts in a quick and easy move.
5. Clients now tell us in worrying numbers that Hick has severed all ties and apparently is uncontactable. Certainly that’s been our experience for some time, and now it seems increasingly to be that of others.
Our next moves: to warn anyone, everyone reading this to avoid David Hick. The overwhelming evidence is that he is a crook who cares little that he has ruined the lives of a large number of investors we know of and stolen many hundreds of thousands of pounds from large numbers of people who trusted him and his operation. All the characteristics (see points above) are those of a Ponzi scheme. And in the next days, we plan to open a case with Forex Peace Army with whom we hope to have GFX and the Hick/ Warner operations exposed as scams. This is just so the maximum number of people who are at risk can be warned they are in danger of losing anything invested with this man or any business fronts he presents.
12 Feb. 2015. Extraordinary information is coming our way from a number of sources, all suggesting that GFX was a scam from much earlier on than we had thought. A message to the recent, anonymous contributors to our knowledge-base: we would really appreciate it if you would please get in touch with us again. We really wish to nurture mutual trust with anyone who can help us, and we will never publish anything without your approval. And contact information will be removed from our in-box to a safe place so it cannot be hacked, as our consultant on IT has warned it could be. We are happy to arrange meetings, talk with PAYG phones – whatever would make you comfortable. Join us (but remain as distant as you feel you need to be) – and rest assured, we will act with discretion. We are now finding that something of a community is consolidating from the large number of folks who have seemingly been ripped-off by GFX, and it seems that community is becoming mutually supportive and gaining focus.
Apart from confidential information, all of what we know will be with the FPA next week, and Action Fraud in the UK are starting to show signs of taking action – such are the numbers of people concerned they have had money stolen by Hick/ Warner. Also of interest – there are indications that the operation may be moving into Asian markets – as yet unconfirmed, but if it’s true, action may need to be taken there to protect the unwary from Hick and his set-up.
15 Feb. 2015. We have been given this link to a Japanese website:
http://www.investing.com/software/gfxsignals/forex-signals/gfxsignals-1391
Clearly GFX Signals is being advertised in Japan, which suggests that Hick is trying to attract more client funds there. What other new pastures is he moving on to, we are wondering. We are investigating this, and will update you on what transpires. Of course, dropping the “GFX” name and maybe even inventing yet another new personal name is something Hick could be thinking about. Hopefully, if this happens, we will receive leads from people out there – so many have helped us this far. Our aim is eventually to bring Hick to justice. But hey, of course, this could all be a great misgiving, and Hick may simply be not very good at communicating (albeit to a level of extraordinary unprofessionalism). He might at any point approach all those investors awaiting return of their funds (for many just their base capital would be enough) and pay up. The invitation is open Mr. Hick for you to come forward, negotiate, and give us back our capital. … ???
19 Feb. 2015. Thanks to the contributor who pointed out that GFX still has the CFD web platform open – cfd.global-fx.net We have to admit to being bewildered here – surely, anyone connected with the CFD fiasco will by now have realised it was, given all the evidence (see Trading Anomalies page) a complete con, designed to make client funds disappear (in truth, it seems, disappear twice – the first time when Hick, we believe, takes the funds for himself, the second a matter of appearances with the apparently bogus CFD trades).
Please, please, would Mr. Anonymous get in touch again? We really need to know what more you can tell us – in the strictest confidence – and what if anything you’re comfortable with our publishing.
Can anyone tell us anything more about Hick’s MO ? We think from things we’re told he may have trained as a boiler-room scammer in Barcelona. Anyone able to fill any gaps here? Anyone able to help with the banks he uses, connections in the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Brazil and the BVI; his particular use of the FIX protocol, his trading system, his “traders” who were there in all likelihood to help keep up appearances? We know Hick tried to attract “traders” through T2W – interesting to have a look at the comments here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trading-firms/102232-paying-3000-300-pips-month.html . A pity that on the face of it Hick had/ has a system which could probably make him and his clients real money. With a little discipline. But the opinion many now hold is that for Hick, it was easier simply to acquire client funds directly whilst, Ponzi-style, generating the appearance of properly conducted business, deceiving clients and inhabiting a world of outward deception and inward self-delusion. But if Mr. Hick does comes forward and pay all his investors the money he owes, we will say so here and attempt to correct any misunderstandings held by anyone that he is a pathological crook and a con man.It is our experience that many folks – quite understandably – don’t wish to think they’ve been ripped off, and hang on to hopes it isn’t so. Hick is brilliant at creating an aura of professionalism. By all means keep hoping you’ll see your funds returned, but whatever you do, don’t send Hick more. He is clever at convincing people that all is well and his critics are just misguided. But remember, his Swiss number is only a call answering service to give an appearance; there are no real offices, and there is no company registration in any country we know of.
Reply to the person whose email address was given as “Someone@gmail” (please listen):
It is our experience that many folks – quite understandably – don’t wish to think they’ve been ripped off, and hang on to hopes it isn’t so. Hick is brilliant at creating an aura of professionalism – as long as he thinks you’ll invest more and you don’t look too closely. By all means keep hoping you’ll see your funds returned, but whatever you do, don’t send Hick more. He is clever at convincing people that all is well and his critics are just misguided. But remember, his Swiss number is only a call answering service to give an appearance; there are no real offices, and there is no company registration in any country we know of.
Hick has gone silent on many people, some for over a year – refusing to answer calls, emails, etc. He has ignored requests to refund large numbers of clients their investment (we hear of more every day), and he ignored the result of our court hearing last October demanding that he repay 13 people in the UK what they are owed. We also have inside sources telling us GFX is and was a scam.
Apart from trying to warn people via this website, our only hope now is that the police will stop him.
We truly wish you luck in recovering your funds.
Regards,
6&2x3s
30 March 2015. Just a quick word, as some folks are wondering if we’ve fallen asleep. There is in fact little to report that we’re allowed to put on-line.
As far as our Forex Peace Army endeavour went, we were unable to lodge a scam investigation as they have a rule which precludes any operation with a complaint running for more than a certain period (would need to check that period, but we fell outside it in any case). Daft, as it seems Hick is still very much around and we don’t know how many people are still being ripped off by him. Suffice it to say that we hear all the time from large numbers of people who have lost huge amounts – sometimes everything – to Hick (or “Warner”).
An interesting link here: http://gfxforex.bz/management which suggests Hick is busy in different spheres. If anyone else comes across possible Hick activity showing attempts to morph into forms where he is not recognised, let us know: a part of our job now is to warn people to steer clear of him though this could prove tricky if he adopts new alter egos or business names. Look for possible tell-tale signs of links to Cyprus, BVI, Cayman Isles, Brazil and Switzerland. And signal services and managed accounts with a supposed track record.
A couple of things we do know with reasonable certainty from a range of contacts: before the Swiss number became unobtainable (as it now seems to be), conversations were had with the staff there who confirmed that Hick’s operation was indeed a scam. Guess they were fooled as well. We also have learned that no money was ever traded (you heard it – NONE!) in reality. All the trades showing on the Signals website and the monthly statements reflect activity on a demo account or accounts.
So the rumours which Hick chooses to circulate via the rumour mill to the effect that once the USD/ JPY reaches a certain low (someone remind us of the latest figure?) he will repay all his clients, can almost certainly be taken with a pinch of salt. Hick is perhaps trying here to keep angry clients at bay, or somehow to sustain the illusion that GFX is a real business. We would of course love to eat our words, and will do so with praise for Hick should he repay us and his other clients. But to be frank, much though we’d love to eat humble pie, the chances of this happening (based on the significant body of evidence we now have) seem less likely than a visit from the archangel Gabriel.22
22 April, 2015.
A couple of things of interest: We were forced, as per the note where David Hick’s image once was at the top of this page, to remove the picture of him due to the fact a relative of his here in the UK “owns” the image in copyright law and we had not been authorised to use it. Now were it David Hick himself making an issue of this, we would have no problem – he could huff and puff as much as he wants and we’d still keep it there. However, we didn’t want to be side-lined and distracted by litigation involving a relative of Hick, so we removed it. What is interesting now is that someone, without any instigation, suggestion or encouragement from us here at davidhick.net, has used an extract from what appears to be the same image we used, to set up a Facebook page for David Hick. So for anyone wanting to see a picture of the man, here is the link:
https://….. well would you credit it? The page has been taken down again! (this entry, somewhat after the event, 10 May, 2015). You would think Mr. Hick would be chuffed that people want to advertise his services free of charge. Oh well, we continue to hope another contributor will offer us a nice clear picture of the man. It is after all in the public interest, we firmly believe.
Note: this is the second time we have been alerted to a Facebook link to a picture of David Hick, and we’d be grateful to know from the contributor why and how they were taken down. Did one of the Hicks lean directly on you, or did they go straight to Facebook? Please let us know.
As stated above and previously, we categorically have NO involvement in instigating the Facebook pages and the first we knew of it was when an outside agent informed us of it.
10 May, 2015: Just rather generally, we now know that most if not all investors in GFX, including various introductory agencies, have come to realise that their money has been stolen and short of a miracle they are unlikely to see it again. Please, everyone with funds in GFX who has not already done so, add your name to the client list being compiled by Action Fraud. Contact them to report your losses on:
Telephone 0300 123 2040
Textphone 0300 123 205
……… And remember to have to hand all your communications with Hick/ Warner or anyone else at GFX, all your account and wiring information, etc.
PS Many people have been helpfully telling us of the various relatives of Hick here in the UK. Thanks to you all, and for the benefit of others, we do know this. But don’t be deterred – anything else that can be added to our fact base is of course appreciated.
11 May, 2015 News just through from a contributor (thanks, Jake) that he’s tracked down other Hick operations such as this one …. http://crdevelopmentcompany.com All the same hallmarks showing as the GFX sites, with Zurich and Cayman Islands contacts for instance (and crucial other give-aways as well)…. So if you’re thinking of investing there – our advice is don’t. It’s run by the fraudster David Hick and should be avoided at all costs. He’s good at slick image and the appearance of sophisticated legitimate business. Unfortunately, he’s even better at running off with client money! We will be listing more Hick operations (Hickcons) soon.
19 May, 2015 Previously, we mentioned we were being told of various relatives of Hick here in the UK. To address one correspondent, and perhaps the relatives in question, their relationship to D.H. has been removed from this site. And we must add, we have no reason to believe his UK relatives are in any way involved in the criminal acts of David Hick, although we do know that one of them was at one time a director of GFX. This may of course have been before any sequestration of funds occurred, and that person may well have been unaware of David Hick’s theft of client funds, or his intention to defraud, at the time of their directorship.
28 May, 2015. Lots we would like to report, but for various reasons cannot – apologies, we wish we could but our hands are tied in several ways. However, as a salutary reminder, here is what one of us remarked in response to a correspondent through this website:
” I think we should make clear (and this is tough) that from information from a very reliable source, we know that no trades at all have ever been carried out with client funds: none. Everything was through demo accounts and no money was ever in fact evert traded. We think Hick has a particular delusional psychopathy which facilitates his fantasising on one level that he really is trading and being the decent guy. It’s the only way to make sense of the statements showing open trades which don’t exist (couldn’t in fact have existed), and the continuing [and diminishing] facade which less and less people believe in. Meanwhile Ponzi-style, it’s more than likely he’s out there spending everyone’s money. It’s very evident he’s actually very clever and had a system which could genuinely have made money for him and his clients. We have inside information on this, and certainly his trading facade convinced a fair few people. But sadly, he slid off the rails and took the path of least resistance, during which the psychopathic aspect of his character got a real grip on him. That’s our best theory at the moment”. Has anyone out there got a better explanation?
We know Hick has put out yet another rumour, this time that funds will be reimbursed come the end of July. Like all the promises before (going back 3 years now), rest assured, this will come to nothing. Funniest perhaps, a few weeks back, was a rumoured HSBC senior purportedly stating that Hick is a real, genuine trader with millions in the bank. Turned out (no surprise) that this HSBC big-gun was an invention. Hick is a master at stringing people along – beware hearing what you want to hear.
One other comment to add: we know that increasing numbers of folks are visiting this site. Please, if you have any information, drop us a note via our contact us details. Good luck to you all and more soon.
30 July
We have noticed a lot of hits from Russia on our website – does anyone over in Russia have any involvement with GFX, or anyone named on this website?….If so, we would very much like to hear from you!
10 November, 2015
A while since we posted anything here, and the truth is there isn’t much we can say (or are allowed to) at the present time. However, it’s of interest that the rumour mill has generated a new piece of nonsense suggesting that Hick has enquired of Action Fraud via his lawyer how he might now pay everyone back their capital. We would strongly urge no-one to get their hopes up, since Hick loves to offer these delusional tidbits – he has a history of them, and they ALWAYS come to nothing.
Were it the case this supposed interest in repaying everyone was true, he could easily have approached the lawyers representing Six and Two Threes (the owners of this website) and offered to repay the 3 million quid owing us, this sum having been upheld by the Commercial Court in London and the claim sent in 2014 directly to Hick. A straightforward thing to do, but we have not heard a murmur.
Amongst the community of victims of GFX, there are several investigations we know of into the whereabouts of Hick as well as into his finances, and we can only urge all of you: KEEP GOING!! Until we get a clear and real offer from Hick to repay, likely only under some very extreme pressure, you can take it for granted he will splash around in his world of fantasies and nothing will come of it.
We hope to be the bearers of better news at some point though for most of us, in truth, we see the chances of getting back our “investments” as near to zero. A world of first-class travel and the high life, and massively more besides, will have absorbed most of our capital. We hope instead that some form of justice will come in the end, and that this criminal will sooner or later answer for ruining so many people and harming so many more – and for this there may be a little hope yet.