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Jail for gang members who carried out £1.7m carbon credit investment fraud (9 March 2017)

Date: 09/03/2017
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Jail for gang members who carried out £1.7m carbon credit investment fraud

A cold call gang which defrauded victims of £1.7 million has been jailed by Southwark Crown Court.

The court heard that that the gang would cold call members of the public, promoting non-existent investment opportunities.

The scheme was led by Aaron Petrou, 49, and Daniel Forsyth, 34, who operated from a base in central London and targeted wealthy individuals by offering opportunities to invest in carbon credits.

Carbon credits are permits which allow organisations to produce a certain amount of carbon emissions – they can be traded if the full allowance is not used but there is little, if any, secondary market for private investors to profit from them.

The court heard that the gang set up a sham company using false names . sending their victims glossy brochures and professional-looking letters, promising substantial returns on their investments, which never materialised.

On one occasion, a woman transferred the gang £100,000 on the understanding that she would receive back £1.2m – but instead the money disappeared. In total, the woman invested more than £650,000 in the scam.

Another member of the gang, Dean Hempseed, 35, convinced one man to transfer £50,000 to the sham company, through persistent cold calling while the victim’s son was battling a terminal illness. The court was told that one sales call requesting a further £50,000 was made shortly after the victim had attended his son’s funeral, with Hempseed offering condolences during the sales pitch.

Following prosecution by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, four members of the gang were jailed at Southwark Crown Court.

Aaron Petrou admitted conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to three years, eight months, while Daniel Forsyth admitted conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to four years, four months.

Dean Hempseed admitted conspiracy to defraud and was sentenced to five years – Alan Mill admitted money laundering and was sentenced to 16 months.

A fifth member of the gang, Paul Thomson, 30, admitted concealing criminal property and was sentenced to three months suspended for 12 months, with 150 hours’ community service.

After sentencing, Specialist Prosecutor in the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, Julie Snell, said:

“These men deliberately and persistently targeted their victims using a variety of underhand techniques to encourage them to part with their money, causing intense financial hardship.The prosecution team built a case which clearly demonstrated the role played by each of the defendants and resulted in guilty pleas.”

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