Fraud gang stole £1m using Suits and The Riot Club aliases

Sujanthan Sotheeswaran, 35, and his accomplices deceived countless victims, police said
Sujanthan Sotheeswaran
City of London Police
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A gang of investment fraudsters stole more than £1 million from victims using aliases from television hits Suits, The Riot Club and Hart to Hart.

Sujanthan Sotheeswaran, 35, and two accomplices acted as "brokers" on behalf of Choice Option and later Blue Crest Capital Options.

Members of the public were cold-called and pressured into investing in a managed account scheme.

They used names such as Jonathan Hart, from 1970s crime show Hart to Hart, Miles Richards and Harry Villiers, characters in 2014 British thriller The Riot Club, and Harvey Specter from Suits, the US law drama Meghan Markle starred in before meeting husband Prince Harry.

The trio were found guilty of fraud by false representation at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

For his part, Sotheeswaran, of The Forum, Molesey was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Darren Peck, 43, of Leighton Road, Kentish Town, received 21 months, suspended for two years. He must also complete 25 days rehabilitation activity and 100 hours unpaid work.

Denis Deegan, 49, of David Wildman Lane, Mill Hill, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Hayley Wade, a financial investigator from the City of London Police’s civil recovery team, said: "Sotheeswaran, Peck and Deegan used elaborate and detailed marketing materials, often copied from respected trading firms, to deceive countless victims.

"Their custodial sentences should serve as a reminder that no matter how convincing your pitch may be and however clever you think you are, if its fraudulent then we will find out."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in