Daventry fraudster's part in £2.1 million investment and diamond scams which robbed elderly and vulnerable victims' life savings

A Daventry man is among 12 jailed over a £2.1 million scam which robbed more than 130 mainly elderly and vulnerable victims of their life savings.

Lee Waite, of Battle Avenue, was found guilty following one of FOUR trials and sentenced in January 2021 to a total of three years, three months in prison.

Waite, aged 39, worked in the gang's London office selling investment schemes for non-existent financial products between 2013 and 2016.

One elderly victim's bank account was drained from being in excess of £200,000 to just over £2,000.

The whole story can only be told now as reporting restrictions were lifted after the final hearing at Southwark Crown Court ended on Friday (February 25).

A six-year investigation by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) also uncovered illegal sales of coloured diamonds and money laundering.

The court heard that victims received 'cold' phone calls hard-sell schemes promising favourable returns.

Initial calls were followed up by postal or email packages containing details of the investment schemes and how payments should be made. Some victims were threatened with legal action if they did not make payments.

Ali, aged 52, of Olton Boulevard West, was found guilty following the first trial in 2019 and sentenced to a total of nine years in prison.

Tyrone Joseph, aged 45, of no fixed abode, was the final defendant jailed on Friday, sentenced to to five years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Joseph was involved diamond fraud, using fake names to collect commission for the vastly over-priced gems.

Gang members additionally offered safe storage of the diamonds — then re-sold them to different victims. Other defendants convicted of fraud and money laundering were:

■ Omer Iqbal, aged 35, of Chigwell, Essex; jailed for six years.

■ Ben Todd, aged 38, of Bromsgrove; jailed for four-and-a-half years.

■ Lee Hales, aged 47, of Birmingham; jailed for three-and-a-half years.

■ Peter (Vladimir) Wilson, aged 40, formerly of West Drayton; jailed for three years.

■ Dean McGeachie, aged 36, formerly of London; jailed for five-and-a-half years.

■ Julian Beardsley, aged 54, formerly of London; jailed for four-and-a-half years.

■ Rizwan Hussain, aged 38, of Dora Road, Small Heath, jailed for two-and-a-half years.

■ David Shivmangal, aged 48, of Purley, was jailed for three years, nine months.

■ Glenn Ward, aged 52, of Orpington, Kent, jailed for three years.

Officers seized Ali's Ferrari F430 and Bentley Continental when he was arrested in Birmingham in 2018, plus around £15,000 cash and gold coins found in a safe box, two Rolex men’s watches, a Hublot men’s watch and designer accessories by Louis Vuitton and Gucci.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Jeremy Basting, from SEROCU, said: “This was a complex investigation involving many victims who were mostly elderly and vulnerable. Sadly some have since passed away.

“The offenders produced professional-looking enterprises with websites and brochures. Bank accounts in several different countries were used to move the money around in order to launder the proceeds from this fraud.

“All of the offenders are now subject to efforts to recover any ill-gotten gains using legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which will be used for compensation for the victims. We have already successfully returned more than £270,000.”