Conman Steven Long stole £11.5m from 115 elderly victims

A serial fraudster who targeted vulnerable elderly people across Britain has been convicted after stealing £11.5 million from 115 victims to bankroll a lifestyle of luxury cars, foreign holidays, and high-end property. Steven Long, 54, exploited the trust of pensioners over nearly a decade, convincing them to hand over life savings through a web of fake investment schemes.

How the fraud worked

Long posed as a financial adviser with credentials he didn’t have, approaching victims — many in their 70s and 80s — through cold calls, local newspaper adverts, and word of mouth referrals. He promised guaranteed returns of up to 12% annually, fabricated account statements to show fictitious growth, and used early investors’ money to pay others in a classic Ponzi structure. By the time the scheme collapsed, some victims had lost everything. One couple in their late 70s handed over £340,000 — the entirety of their retirement savings — after Long visited their home in Shropshire on four separate occasions.

Victims speak out

Several of Long’s victims gave statements after sentencing, their accounts forming a devastating picture of financial and emotional ruin. A 79-year-old widow from Norfolk described losing £87,000 that she’d saved over 40 years of work. “He sat in my living room, drank my tea, and looked me in the eye,” she said in a written statement read to the court. “I trusted him completely.” Another victim, an 82-year-old retired teacher, said the loss had forced him to sell his home and move in with his daughter.

The average age of Long’s victims was 74. Many have since died without recovering a penny.

The lavish lifestyle it funded

Investigators traced the stolen money to a remarkable catalogue of personal spending. Long purchased three properties, including a £1.2 million farmhouse in Devon. He owned six cars at one point, among them a Porsche 911 and a Range Rover Sport. Bank records showed he spent £230,000 on holidays between 2015 and 2022, with trips to the Maldives, Dubai, and the Caribbean. He donated nothing to legitimate investment vehicles. Every penny his victims handed over was funnelled directly into his own accounts within days of receipt.

Investigation and sentence

The Serious Fraud Office opened its investigation in 2022 after a complaint from a retired GP in Gloucestershire whose son became suspicious of the paperwork Long had provided. Long was arrested in March 2023 and charged with 23 counts of fraud by false representation. He was convicted on all counts last month and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

“This was a calculated, sustained, and deeply cruel campaign against people who had done nothing wrong except trust the wrong man,” a Serious Fraud Office spokesperson said following sentencing.

Asset recovery proceedings are now underway, though authorities have warned that victims are unlikely to recoup more than a fraction of what was taken. Campaigners are calling for tougher regulation of financial cold-calling, and a parliamentary review into protections for elderly investors is expected to begin later this year.