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echo-news.co.uk. Echo Monday March 10, 2014 9 AFORMER Rochfordman has beenarrestedby policeprobinga £50million global fr
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MAN HELD IN WORLDWIDE £50M FRAUD PROBE A MAN from south Essex has been arrested by police investigating a worldwide £50million fraud.
Sam Sharpley, 31, a former pupil at King Edmund School, in Rochford, was arrested by armed police in Barcelona in one of the world’s “biggest ever operations” into bogus investment
EXCLUSIVE
By JON AUSTIN [email protected]
schemes, known as boiler room frauds.
Sharpley, who splits his time between Southend and Spain, was one of 110 people arrested in raids across Europe and the USA in connection with the scam which conned about 850 investors. Steve Head, a commander
with the City of London Police, which is leading the inquiry, said: “It is our most important investigation ever, targeting people we believe are at the top of an organised crime network that has been facilitating boiler rooms across Europe and which is suspected of being responsible for millions of pounds of investment fraud.”
FULL STORY: PAGE 9
Armed cops seize Rochford man, 31, in Barcelona Police arrest 110 in raids
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Arrest – Sam Sharpley was held in Spain
Echo Monday March 10, 2014
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Rochford man arrested in £50m fraud probe
Worldwide boiler room fraud raids shut down ‘biggest ever operation’
SHARPLEY’S LIFE ON SAM SHARPLEY’S Facebook page is a homage to a playboy lifestyle. Photographs of him in designer clothes, shoes and accessories, adorn the gallery. The pictures include one described since the raids by a friend as “a famous pic now”. It shows a pair of feet, understood to be Sharpley’s, with two designer watches wrapped around each of the distinctive Christian Louboutin shoes. Other pictures include Sharpley posing with a lion cub, selfies of him trying on various designer outfits and relaxing in a large jaccuzi. There are also a number of other Christian Louboutin shoes, his pet dogs and photos and videos of the Aston Martin that were seized. Companies House records show Sharpley has been involved with two UK investment firms. He set up Profit Hunter Commodities in September 2011, but it was struck off last May without filing any accounts. In December 2012, he set up Profit Tracker Commodities, which is still trading but has yet to file any papers.
Cruising – Sharpley in a luxury car
A FORMER Rochford man has been arrested by police probing a £50million global fraud.
Designer gear – Sharpley enjoys his luxury lifestyle
Lion King – Sharpley with a lion cub
Showing off – Sharpley sports designer watches and shoes
Sam Sharpley, 31, who went to King Edmund School, Rochford, was arrested by armed police in Barcelona at the end of February as part of one of the world’s “biggestever operations” into bogus investment schemes, known as boiler room frauds. Sharpley, who splits his time between Southend and Spain, is one of 110 people arrested in raids across Spain, the UK, USA and Serbia. At least £50million has been taken by the syndicate from about 850 investors in the UK, mainly pensioners, according to investigators. Steve Head, a Commander with the City of London Police, said: “It is our most important investigation ever, targeting people we believe are at the top of an organised crime network that has been facilitating boiler rooms across Europe and which is suspected of being responsible for millions of pounds of investment fraud. “The arrests made across four countries highlight how law enforcement can work globally in the pursuit of suspected criminals who seek shelter in foreign lands so they can target innocent people with investment scams that wreak financial destruction.” Sharpley and another man, also believed to be from south Essex,
THE RAIDS AT A GLANCE In 2012 detectives in the UK and Spain began examining reports of investors being sold bogus shares in carbon credits, gold mines, renewable energy, forestry, eco projects, wine and land. Thirty five warrants were executed at homes and business addresses in four countries leading to 110 arrests. High value goods including the Aston Martin, plus a Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Ford Mustang, and designer clothes, watches and cash totalling £500,000 were also seized. The operation involved City of London Police, the new National Crime Agency, the Financial Conduct Authority, Serious Fraud Office, Crown Prosecution Service, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Secret
Service, plus police in Spain and Serbia. In the two years before the raids a number of arrests were made across the UK, with several cases being brought to court. The investigation then started to target people believed to be at the very top of the organised crime gang, who were running boiler rooms across Europe. Of the arrests, 84 were in Spain, 20 in the UK, two in the United States and four in Serbia. Fourteen suspected boiler rooms were closed in Spain, two in the UK and one in Serbia. In the year leading up to the raids, City of London Police froze £1.5 million in UK bank accounts believed to have been gained through boiler room activity.
Seized – an Aston Martin DB9 was taken away
EXCLUSIVE
By JON AUSTIN [email protected]
were pulled from a black vehicle after armed police smashed its windows in a busy street. Video footage of the arrests showed a black holster containing what appeared to be a pistol on the front seat. A black Aston Martin was also seized from Sharpley’s Barcelona home. City of London Police released a picture of the seizure of the car and also a photograph, taken by Sharpley, showing designer watches wrapped around expensive Christian Louboutin shoes. Cash totalling around £500,000 was seized during the raids. Boiler Rooms are small offices crammed with scores of salesmen who cold call people and use highpressure sales to convince them to part with savings for non-existent shares or investments on the promise of massive interest returns. One victim is reported to have killed himself when he realised his money was gone. News of the raids has featured on American network CNN, but the Echo is the first media outlet to reveal the identity of one of the key suspects. Detectives have branded those responsible for the fraud as real-life “wolves of Wall Street”.
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Echo’s Lavish lifestyle of gang behind UK’s biggest boiler room fraud
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9 churches hit in raids CALLOUS thieves have gone on a church burgling spree, smashing their way through nine places of worship to steal just a laptop, some loose change and a box of chocolates. The burglars have caused thousands of pounds of damage to churches across Southend, Westcliff, and Leigh, during a two-week crime spree. In one incident, the thugs pulled apart a gravestone to throw through a window to get in, while in another case they smashed their way through an ornate stained glass window. Father Neil Paxton, from All Saints Church, in Sutton Road, Southend, had a £500 glass and lead window smashed at the side of his church, while a collection jar with just £40 in it was also taken. He said: “They have stolen from people who have very little. People think the church is wealthy, but it’s anything but.”
Fire at old garages TWO derelict garages went up in flames in Wickford. Firefighters were called to the garages, in Irvon Hill Road, at about 2.20pm yesterday. A large tree was also on fire. Two crews attended and put out the blaze by 2.52pm. No one was hurt.
Jailed: Basildon man in £70m shares scam
A BASILDON man was among three people jailed for 15 years for their part in the UK’s biggest boiler room scam.
Shaun Rumsey, 33, from Basildon, was jailed for five years, and Daniel Gooding, 39, and sister Emma Farmer, 41, from Oaklands Park, Hutton, in Brentwood, received seven and three years respectively, for their involvement in the £70million con. From 2003 to 2007, 1,000 UK investors were duped into buying worthless shares while the crooks used their cash to fund a lavish lifestyle, including overseas properties, wine collections, luxury yachts and private jet hire. Serious Fraud Office Director, David Green, QC, led the sevenyear Operation Steamroller, which uncovered the fraud. He said: “These criminals
The total sum she laundered was £252,425, of which £158,000 was kept by her. Details of the sentences can only now be reported after the two ringleaders of the fraud were convicted at Southwark Crown Court yesterday. Australian Jeffrey RevellReade, 49, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud in relation to an investigation launched by the Serious Fraud Office in 2007. Anthony May, 58, who lived in Switzerland and then moved to Spain, was also found guilty of conspiracy to defraud. The court heard Revell-Reade set up the scheme, under which businesses in Madrid sold shares in US-listed companies fraudulently. Rumsey, Gooding and Farmer were part of the senior manage-
By JON AUSTIN [email protected]
caused substantial financial damage and hardship. “The victims were deliberately charmed, lied to and bullied, whatever it took to make them send their money to these criminals. “The convictions mark the culmination of seven years’ hard work by a dedicated team of investigators, lawyers and accountants at the Serious Fraud Office.” The trio had denied one count of conspiracy to defraud. Gooding and Farmer’s mum Michelle Coleman, 62, of the same address, pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
ment of three Madrid-based companies, Tresaderns & Partners, Price Stone Group and Anderson McCormack. Investors in the companies bought shares that could not be sold for a year, but then turned out to be worthless. Revell-Reade and another defendant, Robert Manning, 63, from Leeds, were found not guilty of one charge of corruption. Three others were convicted in connection with the fraud. Philip Morris, 38, from Biddenden, Kent, and Jon Emery, 36, from Romford, each got five years, while Ian Hughes, 34, from Hainault, Essex, got four years. The defendants were arrested between 2007 and 2009 and charged in 2010. Confiscation hearings for the defendants are set to begin this month.
BUILDING THAT COLLAPSED IS REDUCED TO OPEN SPACE ,
Razed – all that remains of the property where the first floor collapsed
A BUILDING which collapsed on top of two cars has been largely demolished. The first floor of the former Marbles and Manufacturing Supplies, on the corner of Hampden Road and Hathaway Road, Grays, almost completely fell away at about 4.30pm on May 30. Bricks rained down on to a parked black Alfa Romeo and blue MG Ze. Even the ground floor of the building has been stripped back to its metal frame, with only the rear of the property still standing. It was bought
from the council by a local businessman in December with pre-approved planning permission for two, one-bedroom flats. A council spokesman said its building control team had visited the site to ensure it was safe and secure, but was unable to provide any details about the suspected cause of the collapse. A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue said responsibility rested with the council to determine why the building fell down.
Swim pool part of plans to extend school PLANS have been submitted for a swimming pool at a primary school in Basildon. The proposals to extend Lee Chapel Primary School, in The Knares, and build a pool, changing and toilet areas were submitted to Basildon Council yesterday.
The latest application is the latest in a 10-year battle to expand. In April, the school was handed back the keys to its former infants’ building, which was used as council offices for 20 years. Plans to transform the offices into six classrooms, a hall, gym
and pool are now under way. The planning application for the swimming pool, submitted by DJW Architects, of Billericay, says the new facilities would create three full-time and one parttime jobs, with the pool open from 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday,
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8am to 9pm on a Saturday and from midday to 6pm on a Sunday. The car park would also be extended. Basildon Council’s Development Control and Traffic Management Committee is expected to look at the plans this summer.
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Watch classic family films in the sun at Bas Vegas
Essex boys’ role in £70m ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scam By JON AUSTIN [email protected]
WHEN Essex boys Shaun Rumsey and Daniel Gooding accepted offers of sales jobs in Spain, it may have sounded too good to be true.
Rumsey, 33, from Basildon, and Gooding, 39, from Brentwood, would sell shares in specialist diamond, mining and medical companies to more than 1,000 retired people across the UK. The scheme was not unlike the one orchestrated by Jordan Belfont, played by Leonardo di Caprio, in Hollywood movie the Wolf of Wall Street. Living in Madrid apartments with flights, expenses and rent covered by their new employers, they were among scores of “gift of the gab” Essex salesmen recruited by Australian Jeffrey Revell-Reade, 49, and Londoner Anthony May, 58. Despite the veneer of being a legitimate business, their roles were to sell what are now known to have been worthless shares in US-listed dormant and shell companies. Put simply, it became the UK’s biggest ever boiler room scam, netting nearly £70million. Rolex watches and jewellery worth thousands of pounds were given as incentives to top sellers each month. But while some colleagues of Rumsey and Gooding realised early on the scheme was a massive scam, and headed back home, the pair rose to become key players in an organisation that traded for four years. They were finally brought to book and jailed following a seven-year international investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. Deborah Weston, a Serious Fraud
Job applicants who knew anything about shares were dropped, just in case they got suspicious
How a pair of fast-talking salesmen helped defraud thousands in fake shares scheme – and ended up living like kings in Spain Office accountant who was a case principal investigator for six years, said: “A lot of salesmen went over from Essex where they advertised specifically for young men. “They would pay for flights and rent out there. It was the reverse of a normal interview. “If applicants knew anything about shares they would not get the job, in case they became suspicious. “Hundreds went over from Essex. Some came back after a few days because they didn’t like what they saw. But Sean Rumsey and Daniel Gooding became team leaders with team names.” Rumsey, also known as Sean Logan, led a sales team called the Bulls. When he was arrested landing at Gatwick after a flight back from Spain, he was found to have two watches and a ring with a combined insurance value in 2008 of more than £123,000. Gooding was using the pseudonym Daniel Tresadern and used this name to buy a home in the exclusive Oaklands Park development in Hutton, near Brentwood, for £1.27million. The top salesmen earned hundreds of thousands of pounds and were able to invest in overseas and UK property. Ms Weston added: “Rumsey got hundreds of thousands, plus it was all expenses paid, including enter-
tainment. Rolex watches were prizes for top salesmen.” At least ten victims who came forward as part of the Serious Fraud Office probe were from Essex. One was left “isolated” after losing his money and now has only a small Army pension to live on. Another victim invested her £200,000 life savings to try to fund care for her elderly disabled mother, and lost the lot. Rumsey, from various addresses across Basildon, and Gooding from
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Part of the con was to promise whatever it took to get the sale from a client. The salesmen were very manipulative
Oaklands Park, Hutton, were jailed for five and three years respectively last year for their part in the scam. They were found guilty of one count each of conspiracy to defraud after becoming managers of different Spanish boiler rooms during the con, which ran from 2003 to 2007. Their jail sentences could only be reported after Revell-Reade, from Dursley, Gloucestershire, and May, of South Norwood, South London,
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OOMPA Loompas will welcome guests to an outdoor screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Today, Basildon Festival Leisure Park is screening films Willy Wonka and Grease on the big outdoor screen to raise money for charity. Adults and children can see the Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka, starting at 4.30pm. During it, an interpreter will be signing the film to help those hard of hearing. Two Oompa Loompas will also join the party from 4pm to 8pm. The large screen will be showing
Grease at 7.30pm. Restaurants at the site will be offering a take-out service for film-goers. Peter Scopes, site manager at Festival Leisure Park, said: “We are looking forward to what I’m sure will be a great event at the park. Great films, great food and raising money for charity seems like a perfect night out.” Tickets are £5 each, with proceeds being split between the Essex Deaf Children’s Society and Macmillan Nurses. Tickets are available at www.festivalleisure.co.uk
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Leonardo di Caprio – as conman Jordan Belfont in hit film the Wolf of Wall Street
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Shaun Rumsey were last week convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud and jailed for nine years and six months and seven years six months respectively. Ms Weston said salesmen like Rumsey and Gooding befriended potential investors and effectively groomed them to part with cash. She said: “Part of the con was to promise whatever it took to get a sale. “They befriended the vulnerable and the old. Very enticing leaflets were sent to people who would return them for more information. “The salesmen who rang would note down personal details, for example like when their grandchildren visited, and ask them about this on the next call to befriend them. “They used very slick, sophisticated, underhanded and manipulative tactics.” The biggest single investment was well over £1million. Others lost from £1,000 upwards. Ms Weston said: “We knew straight away it was a fraud, but gathering
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Daniel Gooding
The salesman who rang noted personal details, like when their grandkids visited, and asked them about this when they called again
the evidence took six years. We had to follow the trail of where the money went and it involved several countries.” It was also a family affair. Gooding’s sister Emma Farmer, 41, also from Hutton, received three years after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, while their mother Michelle Coleman, 62, of the same address, pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. The total she laundered through a trail of bank accounts, ending at the Isle of Man, was £252,425.