The criminal gang behind a multi-million pound boiler room fraud targeted vulnerable people over the phone, in their local pubs and even pitched up at an England cricket match.
Hugh Rodley, aged 65, Phillip Dennett, 41, Julian Silver, 43, Sonny Willis, 28, and Adam Corbett, 31, were today jailed at Southwark Crown Court for a total of 20 years, having yesterday been convicted of running an operation that conned at least 600 investors out of approximately £5 million.
City of London Police uncovered a network of ‘investment brokers’ pressurising people into buying worthless shares in a clone company of World Aqua Tech International, along with European Land Development Agency, Art IT and Mediatel.
Investors were told the companies were about to float on the stock market, guaranteeing them a substantial return on their money.
Victims then received a contract note, detailing the number and price of shares they had agreed to purchase and information about how they should make their payment. Once the money had been transferred all communication ended.
One man who was directly approached at Lords cricket ground ended up losing £1million, with fraudsters going as far as collecting cheques from him in person.
DI Matt Bradford, from the City of London Police:
“This gang went to great lengths to secure a deal, bombarding hundreds of elderly and vulnerable people with phone calls and even turning up at an England cricket match in the pursuit of peddling yet more of their worthless shares.
“It took a forensic investigation to unravel the networks and systems that facilitated this fraud and expose the men responsible, with the result sending out a clear warning to anyone thinking of setting up their own boiler room fraud in the UK.”
Rodley, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering and was sentenced to seven years.
Dennett, from Warrington, Cheshire, was convicted of money laundering and found not guilty of conspiracy to defraud was sentenced to 12 months.
Silver, from Kent, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering and was sentenced to four years.
Willis, from Essex, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering and was sentenced to five years.
Corbett, from Camberley, Surrey, was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to three years.
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