“It was our Titanic” says victim as “boiler room” fraudster jailed

A self-confessed fraudster who swindled a million pounds in a “boiler room” scam has been jailed for five and a half years today.

In a “boiler room” scam investors are persuaded by cold-calling and brochures, which make untrue and misleading claims, into putting their money in risky investments which are worthless or non-existent.

James Gillingham, 38, pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering, and perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing and was sentenced today at Southwark Crown Court.

One of his victims who invested more than £35,000 said: “The investment was supposed to be our life boat, instead it was our Titanic.” The largest amount taken from a single victim was £133,900.

When cold calling victims, some of Gillingham’s brokers used the names of TV characters as aliases including Harvey Specter from “Suits”, and Jonathan Hart from “Hart To Hart”.

To add credibility to the scam, Gillingham claimed his companies had offices in prestigious locations like Canary Wharf and the Gherkin in London. The investigation revealed the “office” in Canary Wharf was a mail forwarding address and just one desk was leased at the Gherkin. 

Lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges in 2020 but Gillingham fled abroad and failed to attend his first court hearing. He was deported by the Singaporean authorities and arrested at Heathrow Airport in August last year by officers from City of London Police.

Kate Hurst from the Crown Prosecution Service said:

“While James Gillingham’s prison sentence brings one chapter to a close, we must remember the victims who continue to live with the consequences of his fraud.
“We will continue to pursue Gillingham to recover any criminal assets he has, with the intention that where possible it can be passed on to the victims as compensation.”

Financial Investigator Hayley Wade, from the City of London Police, said:

"James Gillingham was the driving force behind a sophisticated investment fraud that caused significant financial losses to victims.
"While his co-defendants were brought to justice in 2024, Gillingham remained outside the UK and attempted to avoid facing the consequences of his actions.
"This sentencing demonstrates that no matter how long it takes, we will continue to pursue fraudsters and work with partners around the world to bring them to justice.
"Fraudsters often present investment opportunities that appear professional and legitimate but promises of guaranteed returns should always be treated with caution. We would urge anyone considering an investment to carry out independent research and seek regulated financial advice before parting with their money."

Brokers acting for Gillingham would cold-call victims and pressurise them into investing by using bullying tactics including pleading for investment and threats that victims were wasting traders’ time. More than 60 victims invested a total of £1 million after being told that they would get a guaranteed monthly return of between 0.5% to 5% depending on how much they invested as well as an overall profit after 12 months.

Analysis carried out by City of London Police showed that Gillingham was running a ‘Ponzi’ scheme where none of the £1 million was actually invested. While some victims received investment income no client received their full investment back or made any profit. Any income passed to victims came from the capital invested by other victims.

Of the £1 million, Gillingham used £650,000 to pay staff, including more than £200,000 to himself and more than £70,000 to Sujanthan Sotheeswaran who worked as one of his top brokers. Sotheeswaran was jailed for three years in 2024 after being convicted of fraud alongside two other brokers. Dennis Deegan was sentenced to 32 months, and Darren Peck was given 21 months suspended for two years.

Investors were paid £167,681 in “dividends”. The remaining £170,000 went towards office costs and other running expenses.

Gillingham also admitted trying to pervert the course of justice by submitting a fake tenancy agreement for a rental property in an attempt to get bail.  

The CPS will take him back to court under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover any assets, so he does not benefit from his offending.