Four jailed for fraud ordered to pay back almost £1 million

The company, called Prudential Commercial Investments, used offices at The Case Mill in Ludlow, and was set up to fleece unsuspecting investors. The fraud targeted dozens of UK citizens living and working around the world with the company used as a front to steal almost £2 million.

But a joint investigation conducted over a six-year period by the West Mercia Police Economic Crime Unit and the Serious Fraud Office led to the arrest of six men who appeared before Worcester Crown Court during a 10-week trial in October 2009.

Five of them received substantial jail sentences and under the Proceeds of Crime Act, the police have succeeded in recovering more than £982,000 from the assets of four of them.

Peter Roope (52), was jailed for four years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to defraud between March 2003 and March 2004. He has been ordered to repay £844,637. His right-hand man, 52-year-old Gareth Matthews, formerly from Cardiff, was jailed for four years after admitting the same offence and will have to repay £354 (correct).

Both men had been living under false names in Prague and had to be extradited back to the UK. Three others, Charles Frisby (65), Douglas Miller (50) and John Roope – Peter Roope’s twin brother – were found guilty of conspiracy.

Frisby, who was jailed for four and a half years, will repay £65,352 and John Roope, jailed for two years, will pay back £71,878.

Failure to repay the money will lead to longer prison sentences.

In passing sentence, Judge Alistair McCreath said the bogus company scheme was “dishonest from the outset”.

He added: “The investors were ex-pats who had settled to enjoy their retirement in the sun and for many the fraud had cruelly robbed them of their savings”.

A sixth man, David Usher from Ludlow, was formally cleared of any involvement in the scam. The jury failed to reach a verdict in his case on a charge of conspiracy to defraud and the judge later recorded a not guilty verdict after the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against him.

Financial investigator Mark Bancroft, a member of West Mercia’s Economic Crime Unit, welcomed the court’s decision to seize financial assets from the four defendants.

He said more than 60 victims were identified and the formation of Prudential Commercial Investments in Ludlow, was a scam from the word go. “It was simply a vehicle to steal people’s money. There was no investment of any description and the vast amount of £1.9 million went straight to the offenders’ bank accounts overseas.

“Although the minimum ‘investment’ was £10,000, the majority of the victims sent far more than that. The greatest loss to an individual was £200,000.”

He said a lengthy and complicated investigation was conducted with enquiries in numerous countries, including Malaysia, the United States, the Virgin Islands, Thailand, the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Australia, Spain, Pakistan and Singapore.

Mr Bancroft added: “Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, these defendants will not just serve their prison sentences. Quite rightly, they have now received a substantial financial penalty or face a longer prison term. It also means the money recovered can be used to reimburse the victims.”