Two jailed over £7m boiler room scam

Fraudsters who made more than £5.6 million over the course of a three-year boiler room scam were each jailed for seven years at Ipswich Crown Court today.

Around 1,250 investors were taken in by David Vidgeon and Rahul Patel between 2003 and 2006.

The fraudsters sold £7 million in fake shares through high-pressure telephone sales, in a network controlled by Vidgeon.

Serious Fraud Office director Richard Alderman said: ‘A boiler room is a predatory and orchestrated attack on private investors so it's very satisfying to see justice delivered for such callous dishonesty.

‘I hope that publicity of today's outcome will serve as a warning for people to think twice when hard-sell investment offers, usually unsolicited, appear tempting. ‘No’ is the right answer.’

Another three defendants Baldur Sigurdsson, Roland Pibworth and Craig John Clark were acquitted by the court.