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Pop and sport stars stung by fraud crimes

Published on 20 Jul 2009 under category: legal

Some high-profile stars are among those stung by a scam similar Bernard Madoff's fraud crimes, it has been revealed.

According to City of London police, a 1960s pop star, representatives of sportspeople and other household names were duped by an £80 million Ponzi scheme.

Figures suggest around 600 people were scammed by the fraud crimes, which involved a gang of men offering returns of up to 13 per cent on investments.

Bob Wishart, of the City of London police's fraud squad, commented that victims had been "hoodwinked".

He added: "They think these people are friends and they have placed complete trust and have given over a lot of personal information and it is very difficult to break that link of trust."

The fraud crimes have been compared to those involving former US financier Bernard Madoff, who was recently given a 150-year jail sentence for his part in a Ponzi scheme, which was worth a reported $65 billion (£40 billion).

The prison term is the maximum that the 71 year old could have been handed.