Steven Long, a conman who targeted elderly individuals, has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for defrauding 115 victims of over £11.5 million. His business associate, Raymond Simpson, received a five-and-a-half-year sentence for his role in the scheme.
Long pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of trust in March at Southwark Crown Court. The court heard that his actions caused victims financial losses totaling £11,577,762. Judge Gregory Perrins, who considered 37 victim impact statements during the sentencing, noted the significant toll the fraud had taken on the victims' lives, leaving some with feelings of "guilt and shame."
"Your offending has taken a very heavy toll on the lives of so many and you should feel deeply ashamed," the judge told Long, adding that the conman had "abused the trust" of vulnerable people to fund his lavish lifestyle and maintain his business.
Simpson, who is believed to be in Portugal, was convicted in his absence of two counts of fraud. He was found to have assisted Long by investing money taken from trust accounts into "increasingly reckless investments."
Long was initially arrested in April 2018 and subsequently jailed for eight months in December 2018 for contempt of court. This occurred when he failed to provide information to aid in the recovery of the defrauded funds. At a High Court hearing during that period, he claimed to possess little more than "the clothes on his back and a push bike."