PHILLIP BENNETT, British boss of the collapsed futures trader Refco, pleaded guilty in a New York court late on Friday to his part in an alleged $2.4 billion (£1.2 billion) fraud. The Cambridge graduate faces life imprisonment with a possible maximum sentence of 315 years.

Bennett’s plea comes just weeks before he was scheduled to go on trial over his role in an alleged scheme to mask the commodity broker’s huge losses from the investing public.

Bennett, 59, pleaded guilty to a 20-count indictment including charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, bank fraud and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), America’s top financial watchdog. Before entering his plea Bennett said: “I know I was wrong, and I deeply regret it. I take full responsibility for my actions. I wish to publicly apologise to my family and to all those I’ve harmed.”

Bennett, who lives in New Jersey, is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20. He is accused of taking part in an eight-year scheme that deceived banks, auditors and investors, including Boston-based buyout firm Thomas H Lee Partners. Two colleagues, former Refco finance chief Robert Trosten and former president Tone Grant, will go on trial on March 17.

The government claims that Bennett, Grant and Trosten moved losses and certain expenses off Refco’s books to Refco Group Holdings – a company controlled by Bennett, Grant and another partner. The government claims the three were operating a shell game, shifting money in order to hide Refco’s actual liabilities.

In June 2006, the Austrian bank Bawag PSK agreed to pay at least $675m to settle charges that it helped conceal Refco’s true financial picture.

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