A man has denied swindling investors in a trading scheme which resulted in alleged losses of almost £2 million.

Lee Maggs, from Sittingbourne, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty to fraud by abuse of position and fraud by false representation.

But the 38-year-old was told by the judge that he will have to wait more than two years for his trial to start.

Criminal proceedings have been brought against Maggs, of Chalkwell Road, by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The fraud charges, alleged to have been committed between March 1, 2019, and January 31, 2021, relate to his management of a scheme known as Kube, or Kube Trading.

Maggs is accused of abusing his position to induce investment when the true state of affairs was such to expose investors to a risk of loss, intending thereby to make a gain for himself or another, or to cause loss to another, or to expose another to a risk of loss.

As far as the second fraud offence is concerned, he denies making false representations to investors or potential investors, namely that the weekly/monthly profits of Kube/Kube Trading as reported by him were true and accurate; that investors' funds were retained in separate accounts; that the entirety of investors' funds would be placed within a trading account; that the trading scheme would shut down immediately upon a loss of 15% being reached, and that he was in a position to make immediate repayment to all investors should that be required.

During the plea and trial preparation hearing on Tuesday (May 21), Judge Philip Statman was told by prosecutor Andrew Wheeler KC that the total loss was "just under £2 million".

But the trial, which is expected to last up to eight weeks, will not get under way until August 3, 2026, due to ongoing pressures on the criminal justice system.

These include a backlog of cases in the crown courts with priority being given to those defendants in custody as well as offences involving sexual allegations or children.

Judge Statman ordered however that a pre-trial review hearing be held on September 26 this year, with a further case management hearing in January next year.

Maggs was released on bail.

According to Companies House records, he is listed as a director or company director with three dissolved businesses - Kube Lakes Ltd, Orbis FX Ltd, and Kube Trading Ltd.