A County Durham mum-of-two was “devastated” after losing £5,000 borrowed from her elderly grandmother to a cryptocurrency fraud called Diamond Ridge Financial Academy.
The 28-year-old was led to believe that her total investment of £8,640 had earned her a massive £300,000 profit.
But when she tried to withdraw the money, the criminals delayed and eventually told by Diamond Ridge Financial Academy she would need to pay a fee of up to £15,000 to release the funds.
With no way of making the payment, and Diamond Ridge refusing to help, she knew she had been scammed.
The woman, who does not want to be named because she has felt unable to tell her husband of her losses, said: “I was devastated, and it weighs heavy on my shoulders.
“The money I thought I’d got was life changing. We could have paid off the mortgage, gone on holiday, put money aside for the kids, so to find out it was all fake and I actually lost money was heartbreaking.
“It’s affected my nana as well, because it’s money she could have used. I have said I will get the money back to her by paying back so much a month.”
She has now enlisted the help of National Fraud Helpline, a trading name of Richardson Hartley Law, to get her money back from her bank, Lloyds.
Banks have obligations from regulators to help protect their customers from fraud.
Fiona Bresnen, a lawyer at National Fraud Helpline, said: “We have a number of clients who have lost money by investing in the Diamond Ridge Financial Academy, which is also known as Asset Management. This was a clever and convincing scam.
“We have already had success in helping to recoup money for Diamond Ridge victims so we are very hopeful we will be able to achieve a full refund.
“This is a case of someone in need of money and being taken advantage of. It’s incredibly sad and has caused her immense stress and upset.”
The woman, who lives outside Durham, started looking for investment opportunities in March, 2025, to better her and her family’s lives, and came across Diamond Ridge on social media.
The company invited her to take part in a pilot trial for a new app and, after viewing positive reviews online, she decided to take the plunge.
“At first you didn’t have to invest anything, they would give you the funds and you would follow the trading advice, so it was risk free to begin with,” she said. “It was all really positive, there were no losses, and they allowed you to keep a percentage of whatever profits were accumulated.”
Under the guidance of mentors, one who claimed to be a professor, she earned about £300, which was sent to her crypto.com wallet.
This helped convince her that Diamond Ridge was legitimate, so she decided to invest her own money, transferring £3,640 in nine payments from her Lloyds account between March 5 and May 6.
She could see her investment growing on the fake Diamond Ridge platform, so was persuaded to borrow £5,000 from her grandmother to invest in a new token.
When the value of the alleged token rocketed almost overnight, she tried to withdraw the huge profits so she could pay her grandmother back straight away.
“They said it would take so many days to get the money so I waited patiently, and then the timeframe kept changing,” she said. “I was starting to get worried, and annoyed, so I contacted their customer service and they said you could pay up to 5 per cent of the value to rush it through, but obviously I couldn’t afford to do that.”
She contacted the professor, who told her the platform was being taken over by another company and she needed to withdraw the money quickly, or lose it for good.
With no sign of the money being released, and no way of raising the funds to pay the withdrawal fee, she was distraught.
“It was all fake,” she said. “It is very stressful, and if I could get my money back I could pay my nana, get out of the debt I owe and live a balanced life again. I want to get this out of my life, and never do it again.”
In June, 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning against Diamond Ridge Financial Academy and Diamond Ridge Asset Management, The regulator stated: “This firm may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams.”
Find out more How We Help Diamond Ridge Scam Victims.
National Fraud Helpline is keen to hear from Diamond Ridge Financial Academy scam victims. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.
