A conman and his stepson from Chislehurst, who tricked over 100 victims out of more than £2million in a land banking fraud, have been jailed for 14 years.

Michael Forte, 62, was sentenced for eight years, whilst his 43-year-old stepson Matthew Vale received six years behind bars.

The pair set up a company called Crown Land Securities Limited (CLS) and bought two plots of land in Kent and Sussex.

They divided the land into smaller plots, which they sold on to unsuspecting investors as potential investment opportunities.

Some of the lies the conmen fed their victims, included claims that investors would enjoy returns of up to 10 times their investment, the land was a development site, and that planning permission was being sought for an out-of-town supermarket.

But in reality there was little chance of either site gaining planning permission for residential or commercial development, and one of the sites was an Area of Outstanding Beauty.

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Forte and Hill lured their victims in through cold-calling or online adverts, convincing them to invest substantial amounts of money.

Some of the 101 victims, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable, had invested their entire life savings.

One victim lost £190,000.

After a four-year police investigation, the pair were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud following a six-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.

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Matthew Vale, from Chislehurst.

Four other men were acquitted of conspiracy to defraud in connection with the investigation.

They were James Biggs, 37, from Orpington, Warren Hunt, 40, from Essex, Brett Cheesman, 37, from Orpington, and Bruno Russo, 38, from Essex.

Detective Inspector Mark Josse, from Operation Falcon, said: "These convictions should act as a reminder to the public of the possible dangers involved in such investment schemes and the lengths criminals will go to in order to make the scheme seem viable and entice victims to part with money.

"The victims, as well as facing the possibility of financial hardship through the loss of thousands of pounds, are also struggling with the knowledge they have been deceived out of their hard-earned savings.

"The public should be wary of companies offering investment opportunities with high rates of interest. If the deals appear too good to be true, they probably are."