Mass-Marketing Fraud

George Abrue, 30, was a bright and articulate man. Unfortunately, he was also an unscrupulous and callous coward.

That was how Detective Chief Inspector Dave Clark of the City of London Police described the ringleader of one of the U.K.'s largest-ever "boiler room" frauds after Abrue was recently convicted and sent to prison for five years. The courts also convicted eight other family members and friends in the scheme. Many more have been arrested.

Abrue's gang members, who called potential victims from boiler-room operations in Spain, would use aggressive, high-pressure (hence "boiler room") sales tactics to sell shares in bogus mineral and biofuel companies, which they said were about to float on the stock market. The crooks produced professional websites and brochures to convince victims, many elderly and on fixed incomes, to part with their savings.

Abrue laundered the money through Swedish and Italian bank accounts to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his associates. He threw parties for up to 300 in top Barcelona hotels, and he purchased expensive sports cars.