According to the Serious Fraud Office, which led the investigation, the operation targeted investors in the UK between 2009 and 2010 and took in over £1.3m ($2m, €1.5m) during that time.
The SFO said the men used high-pressure telesales techniques, “typical of boiler-room frauds”, to promote worthless share bonds in non-trading companies pretending they were shares in Chinese commodities firms.
The longest sentence was given to James Baird, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud for his role in running the sales operation, and who was sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment.
Paul O’Leary and Omar Choudhury also both pleaded guilty and were sentenced to one and two years and six months’ imprisonment, respectively. O’Leary was found guilty of money laundering, while Choudhury was imprisoned for “making misleading statements” in relation to the sales and administrative support role he played.
SFO director Richard Alderman said: “Boiler rooms are a blight on the investment sector. They often create victims out of aspiring individuals and dash hopes of a secure retirement.
“I am pleased that the SFO has played its part in bringing the offenders to justice. I hope that confiscation will help to restore some of the damage so callously done.”
