Fraudsters jailed for four years

THE two men responsible for the region’s largest fraud last year were jailed at Preston Crown Court on Friday.

Malcolm Barber from Wallasey and Terry Warrington from Morecambe defrauded 127 investors out of more than £5m through two investment and loan companies.

Mr Barber was jailed for four years while Mr Warrington received four-and-a-half years. They also received five-year director bans.

Mr Barber was found guilty in November following an eight-week trial while Mr Warrington had already pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading.

The charges followed a four-year investigation into the activities of two companies, Gentry Investment Trust and Dublin CF,  between 2002 and 2010. Investors understood they were investing in property bonds but their money was used to lend to borrowers who could not secure high street loans.

Detective Superintendent Jason Hudson, head of operations at organised crime unit Titan, said: “Terry Warrington and Malcolm Barber are fraudsters who promised the earth to people but delivered very little. Their investors were often people enjoying the later stages of life who wanted to make the money that they had earned from a lifetime of hard work and financial prudence last a little bit longer.

“It was a classic case of the defendants ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. Despite having a £2m black hole in their finances and being insolvent, they continued to dupe investors into handing over more cash for the promise of returns that were never going to be achievable.

“Both men are responsible for a great deal of heartache and financial devastation suffered by dozens of people from both Merseyside and Lancashire, including some who actually regarded Warrington and Barber as their trusted friends.”