Financial Advisor Guilty Of Murdering Millionaire Client

A "devious and clever" financial advisor, who battered his millionaire Mayfair client to death after looting £343,000 to fund a lifestyle of flash cars and expensive hotels, holidays and restaurants, is facing a life sentence after he was convicted of murder today.

David Jeffs, 36, (pic.bottom) murdered wealthy socialite Roberto Troyan, 63, who had received a large inheritance from his late his civil partner, interior designer Anthony Feldman, Croydon Crown Court heard.

Jeffs, of Larch Close, Arnold, Nottingham denied, but was convicted of murdering Mr. Troyan (pic.top) at the Mount Street address on March 8 and defrauding him between March 1, 2010 and December 2, last year and will be sentenced next month.

He shook his head as the verdicts were announced and his wife of 16 months, english teacher Cheri Jeffs, 31, who has attended every day of the trial broke down in tears and was comforted by other supporters.

"This defendant took advantage of a frail and vulnerable man for his own gains over a long period," explained prosecutor Mr. Edward Brown QC at the start of the trial.

"As a result he was able to live the high life, but all at the expense of the deceased, who when the defendant first met him was a rich man. 

"He died less rich by hundreds of thousands of pounds thanks to this defendant's dishonesty.

"The defendant kept the true source of his spending power from everyone. He had come to rely on the deceased, or his wealth, for his own lifestyle.

"When the life to which the defendant happily had become accustomed appeared to him to be about suddenly to come to an end and that there was a real possibility that his callous acts would soon be found out, he killed him."

Jeffs was employed by London and Weybridge, Surrey-based HFM Columbus, a partnership of financial and wealth management firms and invested £1.2 million for Mr. Troyan in an off-shore bank.

The jury were told he abused his client's trust, buying himself two Lotus sports cars, blowing £19,500 in one night at lap dancing club Spearmint Rhino and treating himself to "expensive" holidays in the USA, Mauritius and Ibiza.

There were also VIP rugby and polo events, stays at expensive hotels, meals at top restaurants, a £1150 night at celebrity West End club Chinawhite and evidence of cocaine and ecstasy use.  

Mr. Troyan, who suffered fatal head injuries,  was one half of the first-ever civil partnership in the UK and Mr. Feldman's clients included Princess Michael of Kent and Jonathan Aitken.

He was found on his blood-splattered kitchen floor by his cleaner and had suffered multiple skull fractures, a fractured jaw, cheek and eye-socket and had inhaled blood into his airways.

Mr. Troyan had enjoyed spending his ex-partner's inheritance and hosted cocaine parties at the flat and was known to have had several gay lovers. 

CCTV evidence showed Jeffs spent 15 minutes inside the flat after Mr. Troyan buzzed him in and afterwards bought identical clothes and cleaned-up his Lotus car and himself at a petrol station.

He told police there was no answer at Mr. Troyan's door, but after the deceased's blood was found on his briefcase he claimed to have had a confrontation on the landing with an angry blood-stained mystery man.

In a desperate bid to explain away damning DNA evidence Jeffs told the jury the man was probably a "rent boy" or "angry pimp."

"This was plainly a wholly false account. It was invented to cater for the blood that had in truth come from his own contact with Mr. Troyan and Mr. Troyan's wet blood during the attack," added Mr. Brown.

"The deceased's blood came to be on that briefcase because this defendant, in those fifteen minutes, was the one who, perhaps in just a few seconds or minutes, beat that frail man, most likely because he was about to bring to an end his gravy train, his lifestyle and very possibly his liberty."

The court heard Mr. Troyan had voiced his dissatisfaction with Jeffs to his cleaner/housekeeper Mrs Davey Aganon and was becoming increasingly concerned about his investments and cash flow.

His rental lease was due for renewal on March 9 and he had arranged to meet Jeffs the day before so more cash could be withdrawn from his bank account to meet the expense.

Jeffs told police he was Mr. Troyan's £1,000 a week "financial concierge" and had been paid two years salary in advance.