Anthony Vernon Parker, 59, ran a fraudulent Ponzi scheme to fund his lifestyle.

He was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court earlier this month after pleading guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and one count of participating in a fraudulent business.

Leicestershire Police investigated Mr Parker after 42 victims were referred to them by Action Fraud.

Over seven years, between January 2011 and March 2018, Parker, of Castle Donington, Derby, told clients he would invest their money in spread betting, telling them that his system was ‘virtually risk-free'.

In reality, it was a Ponzi scheme, whereby returns were paid to clients using other clients’ funds.

He convinced friends and family members to place money with him for the purposes of the spread betting scheme, with others later becoming involved through ‘word of mouth’ and recommendations.

More than £3.4m was invested with Parker, who was sentenced on the basis of a total amount of unrecoverable losses from 20 victims amounting to £1.09m.

He splashed out hundreds of thousands on clothing, rent and letting fees, credit card repayments, pubs and restaurants, utilities, subscriptions, and purchases from Amazon, even though he had no other sources of income.

Jane Mitchell, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Parker acted with greed to convince dozens of victims to part with their own money under the pretence that he would be using it to make smart investments for them.

“Many of these investors have suffered significant losses because of their involvement with Parkers’ scheme and he manipulated a large number of people who trusted him with the false picture he painted of his ‘trading’.”