Suffolk man convicted in connection with £13million fraud
The men stood trial at Southwark Crown Court (stock photo) - Credit: Archant
A 60-year-old man from Suffolk has been found guilty in connection with a £13million scam.
Jeffrey Razaq, of Gunton Cliff, Lowestoft was found guilty of acquiring criminal property as part of a scam which conned hundreds of people.
Officers from Essex Police's Serious Economic Crime Unit were alerted in 2017 when an investor reported that they thought they were a victim of fraud.
Essex Police's investigation found that more than 800 people had invested between £5,000 and £140,000 each into Essex and London Properties Ltd (ELP), set up in 2015.
ELP claimed it was buying property on the Crossrail route running from London to Essex, which would be resold for a profit. Only one property was ever bought, and the fraud raised more than £13million.
Seven men were charged for these offences, with one Mohammed Tanveer, 33, of Coventry Road, Ilford, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of fraud.
Four were found guilty, including Razaq, Abdul Mukith, 42, of Great Godfreys, Writtle, Florian Pierini, 35, of Morley Road, Leytonstone, London and Mohammad Hussain, 31, of Church Close, Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
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Mukith was found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder; while Pierini and Hussain were found guilty of conspiracy to launder.
Sentencing will take place on July 25.
Detective Constable Greig Avery, from Essex Police Serious Economic Crime Unit, said: “These men went to exceptional lengths to add 'credibility' to their Ponzi scheme and they used every boiler-room tactic they could think of to pretend it was an established, legitimate company and to shamelessly defraud hundreds of investors out of millions of pounds.
“This was a sophisticated scam which financially impacted a large number of victims and I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to stop them in their tracks and ensure that they answer for their crimes.”
A confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will be held in due course.
ELP was placed into liquidation as a result of a winding-up petition in 2018.
