‘Wolf of Wimbledon’ gets another four years
A fraudster dubbed the ‘Wolf of Wimbledon’ who led a champagne lifestyle after fleecing elderly investors must serve another four years jail for failing to pay back £7.5m.
Australian Jeffrey Revell-Reade, 53, blew a fortune on yachts, mansions around the world and private jet hire after masterminding the high level boiler room scam.
Together with Anthony May, he treated himself to vintage wine collections, top of the range cars and luxury travel after duping hundreds of investors into buying worthless shares from a base in Madrid.
Revell-Reade made £43,864,353 from the scam and was jailed for nine and a half years after a trial at Southwark Crown Court back in 2014.
He was then ordered to pay back £10,751,000 or face extra jail time at a confiscation hearing in April 2016.
Revell-Reade successfully applied to reduce the confiscation order to £7,535,802 last year but only £3,497,000 has been paid so far.
His default prison sentence of four years has now been activated by Westminster Magistrates’ Court for failing to pay the full amount.
District Judge Michael Snow said: ‘I have no doubt at all that given his record of offending, given his failure to meet the order, given the lies he has told previously and given the bogus high court claim, that the assets are available to Mr Revell-Reade as found by the Crown Court and that the reason for his behaviour is that he is wilfully refusing to settle his order.’
Revell-Reade and May, 63, enlisted a team of salesmen to deploy high pressure sales techniques and trick vulnerable victims into parting with their savings.
Father-of-two Revell-Reade spent £13,000 on Rolex watches alone as well as £54,000 on sports cars and motorbikes – as well as £72,970 on two pieces of artwork by the since shamed entertainer Rolf Harris.
Revell-Reade owned a luxury flat in Melbourne, Australia, three apartments in Marbella, Spain worth more than £2.5m and four mansions in Wimbledon, including one worth £5m.
After a three-month trial Revell-Reade and May were jailed for nine years and six months and seven years six months respectively for conspiracy to defraud.
Investors were told to buy the shares the fraudsters had on the shelf to sell.
They were not stockbrokers but they set up an elaborate facade that looked and sounded like real professional stockbrokers.
Veteran Roger Carr was targeted by the fraudsters and left to survive solely on his ‘small army pension’.
Another victim Rosemary Howard invested her £200,000 life sayings in the scam to try and fund care for her elderly disabled mother, who is in her 90s and wheelchair bound.
The swindle is similar to the exploits of Jordan Belfont, played by Leonardo di Caprio in the Hollywood film Wolf of Wall Street.
Revell-Reade, formerly of The Street in Coaley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud and jailed for nine years and six months after a three month trial.
May, of Dundee Road, South Norwood, south London, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud jailed for seven years and six months.
He was later ordered to pay £250,000 and has since paid the full amount.
Speaking after the original trial Mark Thompson, Head of the SFO’s Proceeds of Crime division said: ‘These individuals benefited substantially from their crimes. Their lavish lifestyles featured numerous overseas properties, wine collections and a luxury yacht. We welcome these orders which the pair now need to pay or face a further period of imprisonment.’
ENDS
