Four criminals from Bromley borough were part of a gang of fraudsters who swindled more than £400,000 from victims and shamelessly posted photos of themselves partying.

The group of 12 criminals - including TOWIE's Mike Hassini - operated a series of scams involving diamonds and other investments.

While defrauding their victims, the crooks shared pictures on social media showing themselves in clubs, smoking cigars and drinking expensive champagne.

But as the final member was sentenced yesterday (January 21), a long-running case came to a close with the scammers jailed for a total of almost 12 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Morton, of Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "This complex case has finally finished with the final defendant sentenced.

"The main players involved with this scam, Radford-Mathurin, along with George Herron, Samuel Jeal, Christopher Kirk and Rakeem Dixon, lived lavish lifestyles using the funds gained from their crimes.

"All five have been jailed for almost 12 years and will have plenty of time to think of their actions.

"The other defendants all played a key role in the fraud by laundering the cash."

 

Money-launderer Rakeem Dixon

Police first received complaints in 2015 from investors who had been defrauded of significant sums of cash by two companies.

The victims were cold-called by people working for Bridgewater Associates Ltd and RSD Assets Ltd, who claimed to make profits in the sale of coloured diamonds and online binary products.

They were sent professional-looking brochures, purchase agreements and registration forms, sometimes even before they had agreed to buy.

When they invested into the diamond scheme, they were sent reports that gave details to show the authenticity of the specific diamond purchased.

This scam was given a further air of authenticity by the fact there was an established company in the USA, and the fraudsters had used their logo.

When they invested in the binary options, victims were told their funds would be traded on their behalf in various different markets, including coffee and currency.

They were given password-access to a website where they could watch the progress of their trades and see whether they were making or losing money.

The investors told police that when they spoke to brokers they believed they were talking to the same person but under a different name.

When victims made enquiries about their investments, they were often lied to or ignored.

The Bromley members of the criminal gang were:

Samuel Jeal, 24, of Westmoreland Road, Bromley: Jailed for three years and six months after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

Thomas Mead, 24, of Foxglove Avenue, Beckenham: 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months and 200 hours of unpaid work for money-laundering.

Amy Palmer, 27, of Windsor Drive, Orpington: 12-month community order for money-laundering.

Nicholas Canty, 30, of Forest Ridge, Keston: Eight months in prison suspended for two years and 150 hours of unpaid work for money-laundering.

Other members of the gang from east London, Essex and Herts received various sentences for converting criminal property, conspiracy to defraud and money-laundering.

They included former The Only Way Is Essex star Hassini, 24, from Pilgrims Hatch, who was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out unpaid work for money-laundering.