Southwark Crown Court yesterday jailed four men for their involvement in a boiler room fraud that conned 500 UK investors, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable, out of more than £2.4 million.

Boiler Room fraud involves  bogus stockbrokers cold-calling investors and pressuring them into buying worthless shares.

Claude Greaves, 51, from London W1, who was found guilty of money laundering and two Financial Services and Markets Act offences following an 8-week trial was given a 5 years 6 months jail term.

Three other men who had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Financial Services & Markets Act offences and a money laundering offence were jailed for terms ranging between 21 months and 45 months.

City of London Police say the sentencing marks the successful conclusion of one of the first major boiler room investigations by the force’s Economic Crime Department. Codenamed Operation Storm, it uncovered the unregulated selling of grossly over-priced shares by following an international trail from Spain, the UK, Hong Kong and the Caribbean.

Though the victims of boiler rooms are predominantly UK based, the criminals and their assets are located around the globe.

City of London Police Superintendent Bob Wishart who heads Operation Archway, which gathers intelligence on boiler rooms, said  “”These sentences will send out a strong message to those who see the selling of fake shares as an easy way to make a fast buck – You risk spending a long spell in jail.”

“The people behind boiler rooms are criminals who happily exploit vulnerable people sometimes persuading them to hand over their life savings and we continue to track down those involved wherever they operate.”

Police say anyone considering investing in a company should look at the FSA guidelines for investors and take independent advice.

City of London Police last week warned that these types of frauds could be costing the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds which could otherwise be invested in genuine businesses.