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Three jailed for £10m Majorca Ponzi fraud | Three jailed for £10m Majorca Ponzi fraud |
(35 minutes later) | |
A couple and an accountant who teamed up to use money from a fraudulent £10m investment scheme to fund a lavish lifestyle have been jailed. | |
John Hirst, 61, of Huddersfield Road, Brighouse, West Yorks, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to nine years for his part in the Ponzi scheme. | |
His estranged wife, Linda Hirst, 61, of Woking, Surrey, will serve two-and-a-half years for money laundering. | |
Richard Pollett, 70, of Poole, Dorset, was jailed for six-and-a-half years. | |
John and Linda Hirst enjoyed luxury holidays and lavish wedding celebrations in Las Vegas and Majorca with the proceeds of the scheme. | John and Linda Hirst enjoyed luxury holidays and lavish wedding celebrations in Las Vegas and Majorca with the proceeds of the scheme. |
A Ponzi scheme describes one in which returns to investors come from money paid by subsequent investors rather than any profits. | |
'Get rich quick' | 'Get rich quick' |
Hirst, a former insurance salesman, had previously been convicted for fraudulently taking redundancy money from former Yorkshire miners in the 1990s. | |
In 2001 he set up a Ponzi scheme with Pollett in Majorca, which ran for eight years, promising British people quick returns on their investments. | |
However, the money was not properly invested but instead was spent on financing a lavish lifestyle for Hirst and his estranged wife, the court heard. | However, the money was not properly invested but instead was spent on financing a lavish lifestyle for Hirst and his estranged wife, the court heard. |
Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall QC said those targeted by the pair were mainly ordinary, hard-working people who put their pensions and savings into the scheme after being promised huge returns and a risk-free guarantee. | Judge Jonathan Durham-Hall QC said those targeted by the pair were mainly ordinary, hard-working people who put their pensions and savings into the scheme after being promised huge returns and a risk-free guarantee. |
Many were elderly or divorced and all were decent and trusting, he said. | Many were elderly or divorced and all were decent and trusting, he said. |
Judge Durham-Hall said to Hirst: "You wanted it all - get rich quick. | Judge Durham-Hall said to Hirst: "You wanted it all - get rich quick. |
"You had the greed and the desire for the high life, which overcame all morality." | "You had the greed and the desire for the high life, which overcame all morality." |
The judge told Hirst and Pollett: "You are through and through common criminals. What you did, and what makes this case of the utmost gravity, was brutal, callous and cruel. You are corrupt. | The judge told Hirst and Pollett: "You are through and through common criminals. What you did, and what makes this case of the utmost gravity, was brutal, callous and cruel. You are corrupt. |
"This was an appalling and shocking course of conduct in which so many were targeted and so many have, in effect, had the remainder of their lives shattered and ruined." | "This was an appalling and shocking course of conduct in which so many were targeted and so many have, in effect, had the remainder of their lives shattered and ruined." |
Sentencing Linda Hirst, the judge said: "You did, from June 2006 onwards, enjoy the most profligate of high standards of living, jet-setting here and there, cruises here and there, and, of course, Mr Hirst liberally showered you with money and jewels." |