Conman swindled pensioners out of their life savings in £11.5m swindle

A conman who shattered the hopes of more than 100 elderly victims in a cruel £11.5m swindle is facing years in jail. Steven Long, 59, assured pensioners their savings would be placed into ‘ring-fenced, risk-free, long-term trusts’ but he blew vast sums funding his ‘extravagant’ lifestyle, Southwark Crown Court heard. Long deceived investors across the country while running several companies under the banner of Universal Wealth Preservation (UWP). He ran a slick marketing campaign to persuade investors to plough their…