A failed businessman who conned family and friends out of almost £100,000 has been jailed for 18 months.
David Anderson dreamed of making a huge profit by investing money with a company overseas.
But Inverness Sheriff Court heard that he had been snared in a pyramid selling-type scam and may have sent “hundreds of thousands of pounds” to am organised crime syndicate.
A sheriff told the 66-year-old first offender that it was a “tragedy” he found himself in the dock facing such serious charges.
Anderson admitted defrauding three people of a total of £91,800.
But the court was told the actual total was far in excess of that sum.
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart said: “The amount of money he has sent abroad is quite staggering. It could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.”
A company called Cheap Fast Loans contacted Anderson and he was told if he handed over £5,000 he would get £8,000 in return.
Mr Urquhart said: “He continued to send more and more money with the promise of even greater returns.
“Due to sending so much money he was thereafter referred to a ‘David Carter’ who claimed to work for HMRC to complete the investment and sent further funds.
“He was told if he invested £300,000 he would receive back £500,000 in nine months.”
“Whilst HMRC does indeed employ a number of people named David Carter none of them is ‘UK Head of Tax’. HMRC does not run an investment service.
“We believe that it is going to someone unidentified in Asia.”
Anderson’s agent, solicitor Mike Chapman, said the former plant hire boss had never intended keeping any of the money and felt genuine remorse.
Mr Chapman added: “He was the perpetrator but did not gain a single penny.
“He still believes that the money will be paid back with significant interest. He accepts he lied to obtain the money but genuinely meant no harm.
“A decent but vulnerable man has been pushed by the deceptions and demands of people involved in serious organised crime into committing offences which have had a seriously adverse effect not only on his victims, but on himself.”
The court had earlier been told that Anderson, who lived in a guest house In Blackpark Terrace in Inverness after losing his own home, was a bankrupt who previously ran a plant hire business.
He was lured into the pyramid scheme because he could not get a loan from mainstream banks to keep up mortgage repayments.
Even after being charged and bailed, Anderson continued sending money to the brains behind the con and received another £36,000 recently from a widow.
The court heard that another of his victims had borrowed money, sold shares and gave Anderson his life savings – a total of £60,000 – with no return.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson said: “It is nothing short of a tragedy that you find yourself in court without any previous convictions on such a serious charge and at your age, especially since you have been a victim of fraud yourself.
“But such is the amount involved, only a prison sentence is appropriate.”