Film-Inspired Fraudsters Jailed for Over Five Years
A crooked gang that nicked their aliases from TV hits like Suits, The Riot Club, and Hart to Hart have been slammed with a combined sentence of five years and eight months. Sujanthan Sotheeswaran, Darren Peck, and Denis Deegan duped victims through a slick but fake investment scheme, posing as brokers for Choice Option and Blue Crest Capital Options.
Cold Calls, High Pressure and Fake Trades
The trio cold-called victims, boasting about their managed account scheme. Financial records show they were among the top 20% earners at the firms, raking in cash directly from investors pressured into handing over their money. Clients were told they had no control over their trades and that only the brokers could trade on their behalf.
But the so-called trading wasn’t real. The platform had no banking links, meaning funds were at the gang’s mercy. The whole scam was a classic Ponzi scheme.
Police Warn: Don’t Get Fooled by Bullish Brokers
Hayley Wade, a Financial Investigator from the City of London Police Civil Recovery Team, urged the public to be wary of “too good to be true” investments. She warned against succumbing to hard-selling brokers, exposing the greed-fuelled tactics behind these cons.
By October 2016, investors found themselves locked out of accounts and unable to withdraw money. Suspicion grew and the City of London Police were alerted in February 2016.
Film Characters Used as Fake Broker Aliases
The crooks adopted names like ‘Jonathan Hart’ (Hart to Hart), ‘Miles Richards’ (The Riot Club), and ‘Harvey Specter’ (Suits) to charm victims. Others used aliases such as ‘Alister Ryle’ and ‘Harry Villiers’ from The Riot Club.
The City of London Police urge anyone thinking of investing to get advice from independent financial experts and stay sharp to avoid falling prey to these scams.
