When it comes to committing crimes, it is important for the criminals to weigh up the risks against the potential rewards. You have some criminals who act impulsively and will carry out crime if an opportunity presents itself. This is in the nature of some people, but this can be a very hazardous way to live your life. You also have criminals that spend a lot of time weighing up their options and then putting serious plans into place. It may be that they need to employ the services of more people to carry out their crimes, and this in itself will carry more risk. There is also a need to bring in more money because if you have to spread the cash around a greater number of people, you want to make sure that there is more than enough money to go around justifying the hard work and effort.
This is why when many criminals decide to “go big” when it comes to a crime; they will often go big in the shape of a boiler room crime. A boiler room scam can take a lot of work, effort and people to pull off but once it is up and running, there is a decent chance of making a big return on the time, money and investment that has been put in place. While the police and law enforcement agencies work hard to shut down these crimes, anytime they make an announcement that they have shut down one of these groups, you will inevitably find that another group is starting up in its place.
Huge sums of Money are Involved
This is often down to the fact that the sums of money involved with these crimes is huge and when other criminals or people who are down on their luck hear about the sums of money involved, they want to get in on the act as well. This was definitely the case when a gang of five men from Nottingham were all sentenced to jail after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. It came to light that the gang had made over £3m with their action, selling shares in fake companies. When you are bringing in enough money to buy luxury cars and treat yourself and your loved ones to expensive holidays, it is only natural that people will take an interest in the crime. Okay, the prison sentences imposed on all of the gang members has to be seen as a massive risk associated with the process but for some people, the awards on offer are far too enticing to think about everything in the correct manner.
The group operated from Majorca but they focused on UK investors and the court learned that over 100 people were conned out of money. The majority of victims were elderly or vulnerable people and it was reported that one individual lost out on over £74,000. The gang would call up people and attempt to sell them shares in operations such as pharmacies and gold mining ventures but the shares, and the companies involved, didn’t exist. The process saw the gang not only take a considerable amount of money from their victims, some of the victims were even encouraged to take out borrowings against their homes, which left them with a greater level of debt. Investors were sent out gifts like champagne and chocolate, no doubt helping to make the process seem more real and genuine but in reality, the gang were living the high life driving around in top of the range vehicles and jetting off to sunnier climes.
Surveillance Work was undertaken over a Lengthy Period of Time
Surveillance of the gang actually began back in 2009 with members travelling back and forth between Spain and the Midlands. This surveillance began after a few complaints were made from investors and the first arrests took place in 2010. This arrest saw a number of laptops being seized and this provided information about victims account details and a record of money that had been transferred from victims to the gang.
The scale of these crimes and the amount of money involved makes them massive crimes, and there is no denying that the impact that these criminals have on people’s lives can be terrifying. The extent of these crimes means that the defence solicitors representing these clients need to have a good understanding of the complexities of the case and what the crime entails.
Andrew Reilly is a freelance writer with a focus on news stories and consumer interest articles. He has been writing professionally for 9 years but has been writing for as long as he can care to remember. When Andrew isn’t sat behind a laptop or researching a story, he will be found watching a gig or a game of football.
