Darren Inett sentenced to 4 years and 3 months' imprisonment today at Worcester Crown Court for his part in a West Midlands based high yield investment fraud and disqualified from acting as a company director for 12 years. (Three others already convicted).
Darren Inett of Droitwich (born 5 Jan 68) was part of a conspiracy to defraud investors during 1998 to 2000 through the offering of exclusive introduction to collective trading programmes on the financial markets. The fraudsters operated from Droitwich, with an accomodation address in London, but arranged meetings with investors in smart hotels in the Birmingham area, arriving in hired expensive cars to give the illusion of being successful investment advisors. However they were not authorised investment intermediaries, as required by law.
The investments were supposedly secured by bonds and/or insurance or share certificates. The reality was that neither the investment scheme nor the security existed. The money lost by investors in the scheme in which Inett was involved amounted to around £550,000. Many victims were in Canada and the USA.
Inett's co-conspirators were John Wilfred Thomas, David John Saull and Jasbir Singh Mudhar who were found guilty in June last year and sentenced on 8 August 2003 to prison sentences ranging from 4 years to 5 ½ years. (See SFO press release of that date on www.sfo.gov.uk /news/2003). Inett was severed from that trial to be dealt with at a later date for health reasons. A court order prohibited the reporting of the conviction of the three defendants until the case against Inett was concluded.
This prosecution is part of a wider case in which the defendant John Wilfred Thomas was also involved - but not Inett, Saull or Mudhar. He (and others not prosecuted for jurisdictional reasons) conducted a similar fraud between 1994 and 2000 involving victims in the UK and Sweden. The parallel investigation, which started in February 2000, into both fraudulent operations established losses of £1.1 million. West Mercia Police were also involved in the investigation.
On resumption of proceedings against Inett, he pleaded guilty on 6 April and was sentenced today by HHJ Mathews to 4 years and 3 months imprisonment and disqualified from acting a company director for 12 years. (He had previously been disqualified for 5 years in January 1998). A confiscation hearing is listed for 17 September 2004.
Serious Fraud Office
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10-16 Elm Street
London, WC1X 0BJ
Press Office phone 020 7239 7001/7000
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