THREE Braintree fraudsters who conned would-be investors out of £1.3 million have been jailed for a total of nine years.

The men ran a 'boiler room' scam and used high-pressure telesales techniques to promote worthless shares in Chinese commodity companies to unsuspecting clients.

The boss, James Baird, of Braintree, ran the operation from an office in Spain with trusted associate Omar Choudhury, of Great Yeldham, and used his good friend Paul O'Leary, also of Braintree, to help launder the cash generated.

Prosecutor Nic Lobbenberg told Chelmsford Crown Court that at first the boiler room in Barcelona used cold-calling and hard-sell techniques to con investors before impersonating FSA-registered firms.

In just ten months between September 2009 and June 2010 the boiler room obtained £1,275,768 from investors by selling them worthless shares and bonds in Chinese oil and mining companies.

The court heard that 30-year-old Baird, who was living in Petworth Close, Great Notley, at the time, received £657,319 from the scam.

He used his gains to fund a lavish lifestyle – both here and in Spain – spending thousands on cars, including a convertible Ferrari 360 and a Range Rover. The cash was also spent in restaurants, on online gambling, in clubs and on cocaine. He spent £56,000 on a trip to the Maldives and £30,000 for a stay in Dubai.

"This was a highly professional fraud designed to achieve a high level of profit, profit which you enjoyed to the full," Judge Charles Gratwicke told him.

The court heard he had bought a five-bedroom detached house in Great Notley and was not discreet in discussing his business. Indeed, he had made video recordings on his mobile phone boasting about the money he made in the boiler room.

His 30-year-old associate, Choudhury, received nearly £70,000 for his part in the scam. He allowed his Isle of Man account to finance the boiler room and pay for mailboxes in London and phone diverts to Spain.

He was arrested at Stansted Airport last June after returning from Spain.

Judge Gratwicke accepted that he was not the instigator of the fraud but carried out his role, including selling the shares, "with gusto" and that he was fully aware of the operation's scope.

The court was told that O'Leary, 38, of Trotters Field, Braintree, was a long-standing associate of Baird and enjoyed the lavish hospitality his friend could provide. He received £38,587 for allowing his UK bank account to launder cash generated by Baird.

"This was a sophisticated deception deceiving banks, the FSA, Moneysupermarket.com and ultimately investors, who believed they were dealing with authorised firms based in the UK," the judge said.

"The reality was a boiler room, unregulated in Spain, selling bogus products," he added.

The investigation began when a Leicestershire man in his 80s informed police after being conned out of £100,000.

All three pleaded guilty for their part in the scam. Baird was jailed for five and half years, Choudhury for two and a half and O'Leary for 12 months.