A FRAUDSTER from the Dengie has been jailed for a multimillion-pound pension scam which saw almost 250 people duped out of their life savings.

Alan Barratt, 62, alongside Susan Dalton, 66, was sentenced today for helping con 245 victims out of a total of £13.7 million between 2012 and 2014.

The average amount each person lost was £55,000 but some lost much more than this amount as well as their future security, Southwark Crown Court heard today.

Passing sentence, Judge Gregory Perrins said the pair caused "such misery to so many people", with victims suffering mental health problems and some even attempting suicide.

He said: "Each account that I have read is a story of a life ruined by your actions and you should both be ashamed."

The court heard how Barratt and Dalton, who were based in Spain, enticed savers with the promise of unrealistic returns, cash bonuses, and even John Lewis vouchers before getting them to transfer their pensions from legitimate schemes to fraudulent ones.

Read more >>> Man arrested after armed robbery at jewellers in which watches worth £70k stolen

The pair were said to have passed the lion’s share of the money to "mastermind" David Austin who killed himself in 2019 after being invited for a police interview under caution, the court was told.

During the scam, Barratt, of Burnham Road, Althorne, was a trustee for six fraudulent occupational pension schemes and sucked in 139 victims and more than £7.7 million of their savings and personally profited about £343,000, the judge was told.

Dalton, of Brookdale, Rochdale, was a trustee for four schemes and duped 103 victims out of a total of just over £5.9 million, taking about £126,000 for herself, the court heard.

The trio were ordered to repay the millions of ill-gotten gains after a High Court civil trial in 2018.

However, much of the funds were transferred to offshore accounts and have never been recovered, the court heard.

The judge heard a firefighter, Glenn Perkins, who transferred £146,000 to the scammers in 2013, felt “worthless and useless” and now struggles with mental health problems.

Read more >>> Police office in Maldon opening to the public again after Covid pandemic

Another man, referred to only as Mr Holloway in court, handed over £300,000 and has been left “devastated”.

The judge heard how, despite being based in Spain, Dalton and Barratt “deceived” banks in Britain into believing they were in the UK in order to open accounts.

A solicitor had also been instructed to send disgruntled victims comfort letters and threaten legal action, the court was told.

Speaking on behalf of Barratt, Senghin Kong said the defendant had been kept in the dark about many aspects of the scheme and was “a tool to be used” by Mr Austin.

Mr Kong told the court: “Mr Barratt had only a limited awareness and understanding to everything that Mr Austin was doing.

“Plainly he was chosen by Mr Austin because he was unsophisticated.”

He also expressed Barratt was “profoundly sorry”.

Barratt was sentenced to five years and seven months and Dalton was given four years and eight months, for one count each of fraud by abuse of position.

In addition to their jail terms, both have been banned from being directors of companies for eight years.

A confiscation hearing, to recover what might remain of the profits of the scam, is set to take place in November.