A man from south-east London used ChatGPT for guidance on forging financial documents as part of a bogus £154 million takeover bid for an oil and gas company in an attempt to double the value of his existing shares.
Christopher Woolcott, 44, from Blackheath, south-east London, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and three counts of making a false instrument after attempting to manipulate the share price of Canadian energy company Touchstone Exploration, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market.
He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court on 10 November.
Woolcott had accumulated almost £70,000 worth of Touchstone shares between May and November 2024, purchasing them in his own name and those of his wife and son. Had the supposed takeover been announced or leaked successfully, the value of his holdings could have doubled, potentially giving him a gain of around £70,000.
Woolcott was also struggling with personal debts and difficulties with HMRC. His defence barrister, Mark Stevens, said he had attempted to recover losses from his Touchstone investments. 'He decided to recoup losses made through Touchstone shares by entering into this foolish enterprise,' Stevens told the court.
ChatGPT Helped Create Fake Financial Documents
Woolcott initially contacted Touchstone using the name Simon Jones, claiming to represent a private equity firm called Griffon Partners. He used an AOL email address and told the company his business account had temporarily been compromised by malware.
He then produced a purported £154 million takeover offer, valuing the company at roughly twice its actual market value. To appear credible, he forged an HSBC letter claiming £217 million was held in an account, alongside a £100 million credit facility.
He also created a fake legal letter attributed to Marcus Allen, a fictitious solicitor supposedly working for the real law firm RSW Law.
Woolcott admitted to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigators that he had been 'using ChatGPT for document templates and guidance, downloading logos from Google, and signing documents with improvised signatures, and that he had printed them and mailed them in Blackheath', prosecutor Denis Barry told the court.
The documents were posted to Touchstone from a Ryman stationers branch in Blackheath. However, company executives quickly spotted inconsistencies. Prosecutor Denis Barry told the court that chief executive Paul Baay considered the offer 'too good to be true' because it was a cash proposal at almost double the company's prevailing share price.
He Met the Company's CEO Under a Fake Identity
Despite the warning signs, Woolcott took his impersonation further by arranging a face-to-face meeting with Touchstone chief executive Paul Baay at London's May Fair Hotel.
He attended under another assumed identity, Greg Thomas, posing as a representative of the supposed bidder. Woolcott reportedly adopted a Boston drawl and claimed his client was skiing in Switzerland.
During the meeting, he pushed for the company's board to issue a public announcement confirming the proposed takeover.
He also joined a Touchstone investor discussion group on Discord, using the same email address and a mobile phone purchased near his workplace. He intended to leak information about the supposed deal to investors to help drive up the company's share price.
FCA Investigation Exposed Fake Identities
The FCA eventually traced the deception using transaction reporting data, phone records, receipts, CCTV footage and evidence seized during searches. Investigators linked three phone numbers used by the fictitious individuals to contact Touchstone to the same handset.
A parking payment also placed Woolcott's car near the Ryman store in Blackheath from which the forged documents had been sent. Searches of his home and workplace subsequently uncovered the phone linked to the fabricated identities.
Court Suspends Two-Year Prison Sentence
Judge Usha Karu described Woolcott's actions as a 'deliberate and sustained scheme' designed to 'hoodwink' Touchstone.
The court heard that Woolcott told psychological assessors he had 'found it exciting to pretend to be a different character'. His defence barrister said company directors had identified the aliases as fake and described the documents as 'surprisingly amateurish'.
Woolcott was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £4,627.73 towards prosecution costs.
The FCA opened its criminal investigation in March 2025 and secured Woolcott's guilty pleas within 18 months. Touchstone was not under investigation by the FCA in connection with the case.
Therese Chambers, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight, warned: 'Anyone tempted to manipulate our markets should know that we are fully committed to identifying, investigating and taking action against those who seek to break the law.'
