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BANKRUPT BANKER

Richard Pope, 53, originally from St Albans, funded a lifestyle of fast cars, yachts and private jets as his international gang pressurised pensioners over the phone into buying non-existent shares.

His crime empire made over £100 million as more than 2,300 victims were bullied into handing over life savings, detectives believe. One victim alone lost more than £800,000.

As Pope pleaded guilty to his part in the conspiracy at the Middle District of Florida District Court, British detectives condemned him for leaving a trail of victims destitute.

Detective Superintendent Bob Wishart, from the City of London Police's Economic Crime Directorate, led the investigation in partnership with US authorities. He told how most of the victims were retired pensioners from the UK who trusted Pope with their life savings.

"They did not deserve what they have got, they thought they were going to be able to look after their families for years to come with this. But instead many of them have ended up divorced, homeless or have had to come out of retirement and get jobs," he said.

Boiler room scams involve fraudsters using high pressure sales tactics to con investors into buying non-tradable, overpriced or even non-existent shares. They are thought to cost the UK around £200 million a year.

Pope spent two years on the run before his arrest, police said. The bachelor, who was extradited to the US from Spain, helped sell fake shares and options to unsuspecting investors between July 2004 and March 2008.

After being alerted to the scam in 2006, City of London Police, US Homeland Security Investigation, Tampa, and the US Secret Service worked together to finally arrest Pope at an undisclosed location in Spain.

Pope was charged in March 2009 by US authorities along with six other defendants, including two other Britons - Paul Gunter and Simon Odoni. The other defendants are awaiting trial, US authorities said

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