A 25-year-old man from London cheated investors out of 5.6 million pounds ($9.4 million) in a fraudulent currency-trading scheme, spending the money at casinos and nightclubs, the U.K. markets regulator said. Alex Hope used investors’ money “as his own personal piggy bank,” Sarah Clarke, a lawyer for the Financial Conduct Authority, said at the first day of trial in London today. Hope, formerly a part-time catering assistant, is charged with fraud. In a 13-month period leading up to his arrest in early 2012, Hope spent about 2 million pounds of investors’ money, including 950,000 pounds at casinos and 512,000 pounds ... (full story)