Fraudsters promised £500bn profit

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Two fraudsters who stole £600,000 from a mentally ill man, promising to make him the richest man in the world, have each been jailed for five years.

Londoners Gem Shevket, 34, of and Malcolm Green, 39, promised Marshall Davis a £500bn return for investing in property schemes.

The pair also stole Mr Davis's mother's engagement ring, his brother's stamp collection, shares and antique coins.

Snaresbrook Crown Court heard they also convinced the victim to buy them gifts.

Shevket, of Grange Park, Enfield, north London, and Green, of Heath Street, Hampstead, north London, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, theft, obtaining a money transfer by deception and possessing criminal property.

'Important investor'

Mr Davis, 43, of Hampstead, north London, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1997 and his symptoms were obvious when he met the pair in 2004, the court heard.

He first met them at an estate agents where he went to sell his parent's home, which was left to him after their death.

The pair convinced Mr Davis to invest in various property deals, promising him profits running into the millions.

During the trial Mr Davis said: "They told me that I was an investor and an important player or something to that effect.

"I was told I was an important investor and that I had the guts to go in for these deals."

The fraudsters also stole Mr Davis's share certificates by forging his signature, the court heard.

'Quirk of fate'

During a visit to the victim's home the pair stole his dead brother's stamp collection, antique coins and even his mother's engagement ring.

Sentencing them Judge Andrew Collender QC, said both men were "living in a world of fantasy" and their "culpability was equal".

"But then you found yourselves up against it financially... and it was a cruel quirk of fate that Marshall Davis crossed your paths when he did."

Det Con Steven Poynton, the original case officer admitted to having an affair with Shevket's sister, but rejected suggestions that his investigation was biased by it.