Robert Scott who collaborated with a Spain-based boiler room operation was today sentenced to 33 months imprisonment.
Robert Allan Scott, [d.o.b 29/03/1946] of Newmarket, worked with a fraudulent high pressure shares selling operation by allowing two non trading companies of his to be used to persuade investors to buy shares in them, which in effect had no real value.
Shares in the companies, GlobalCom Trading Limited, a computer based virtual marketplace, and Alternative Diesel Investments Limited, a bio diesel company, neither of which were trading or generated revenue, were sold to unwitting investors.
Scott's role was not to promote the investments, but to receive payments from the investors and issue them with share certificates. The fraudulent scheme was that Scott would transfer 90% of the payments to the boiler room operation whilst he retained 10%, funds that he used in part for his own benefit.
Approximately 600 UK investors paid nearly £1.5 million for these worthless shares.
Complaints were initially made to the Norfolk and Suffolk police who alerted the Serious Fraud Office in early 2005 and continued to work collaboratively in the investigation.
In July 2008, Scott was charged in connection with this fraud and in November 2009 he pleaded guilty to two counts of Fraudulent Trading contrary to s.458 of the Companies Act 1985. He was sentenced today at Ipswich Crown Court. In addition to the custodial sentence, he has been disqualified from acting as a company director for 12 years.
The offence relating to GlobalCom Limited spanned from April 2003 to March 2007 and Alternative Diesel Investments Limited September 2004 to August 2005.
