Police make arrest in £3m boiler room fraud
Police yesterday arrested a man on suspicion of being part of a gang that made £3m by flogging fake investments in expensive metals.
The 41-year old suspected fraudster was caught in Glasgow.
Up to 250 people are believed to have been persuaded by the gang to put their savings into bogus investments, with one victim investing more than £200,000.
Victims were cold-called by boiler room operators and informed that they could make big profits, with the metals supposedly being stored for them in secure vaults in Geneva and the Channel Islands.
Enquiries by the City of London Police have so far found no evidence that either the metals or the vaults actually exist.
“Boiler room fraud in particular is a highly damaging offence that can have a devastating effect on people who fall into the carefully and cleverly laid traps set by the criminals,” said detective inspector Nigel Howard.