UK fraud office returns £1m to victims of ‘Wolf of Wimbledon’ scammer

The UK’s serious fraud office (SFO) has returned £1m in stolen funds to more than 200 victims of Australian fraudster Jeffrey Revell-Reade.

The SFO said it had handed over another £1m in stolen funds, on top of the £3m already returned, after the fraudster conned investors out of a total £70m.

The return comes after Revell-Reade was sentenced to nine and half years in prison in 2014 for masterminding a multi-million-pound “boiler room” scam, following a seven year SFO investigation.

The scam saw the Australian cold call investors from his base in Madrid in a bid to pressure them into buying worthless shares in shell companies.

Following his conviction, the SFO issued a £7.5m confiscation order against Revell-Reade, which resulted in the sale of his luxury penthouse apartment in the Costa del Sol.

Aside from his Spanish penthouse, the fraudster also owned a luxury flat in Melbourne and four mansions in Wimbledon, including one worth £5m.

SFO boss Emma Luxton said: “This result demonstrates our tenacity and commitment to ensuring victims receive the justice and compensation they deserve, no matter the complexity of the investigation or how many years have passed since the crime was committed.”