A chartered accountant who earned £150,000 a year working in the City has been jailed for a £3 million fraud.

Darren Thompson, 40, of Joy Lane, Whitstable, gambled investors’ money by betting on the outcome of football matches on the Internet, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

At first the gambling system he came up with was successful, but as more and more people were drawn into it losses started to build up.

Thompson then produced a glossy brochure containing false information about the levels of return, enticing even more people to part with their cash.

He admitted a charge of fraud and another charge of participating in a fraudulent business, and was jailed for four years and eight months.

Stuart Biggs, prosecuting, told the court that Thompson’s system was nothing more than a money-making scam.

Among his more than 100 victims was his own mother who lost £50,000 and a woman who invested £200,000 given to her by her father to pay for her son’s future.

His wife’s family lost about £300,000 altogether.

Thompson spent a significant amount of the money on a lavish lifestyle buying expensive cars, a Las Vegas wedding and numerous trips abroad and had also spent £947,000 building up a property portfolio.

Martin Taylor, defending, said Thompson had no previous convictions and had worked for top banks in the City, including Credit Suisse and Barclays.

He started his system for his own use and at first was successful.

Mr Taylor told the court: “He believed that these figures were predictable and it was not gambling.

“When Betfair was set up he became more involved and was successful.

"Friends became interested in it and it was going well. The upshot was that Thompson began to believe in himself and his ability to win and make money and others joined him.

“He had a system and did not consider himself to be a gambler as it was very much a situation where the risk was spread.

“Thompson fully believed in the viability of his system but at the beginning of 2007 problems began. “

Mr Taylor said people were misled by glossy brochures Thompson produced about his European Football Growth Fund which were dishonest.

"Unfortunately, indeed tragically as far as your investors were concerned, by the start of 2007 you could have been in no doubt at all that this scheme wasn't working” - Judge Heather Norton

He added: “Until he misled them with the brochures all the investors knew that he was betting with their money and that chance was a factor.”

Judge Heather Norton told Thompson: “No doubt your investors were reassured by your background in football and investment and no doubt too by the glossy brochures which you provided.

"Unfortunately, indeed tragically as far as your investors were concerned, by the start of 2007 you could have been in no doubt at all that this scheme wasn’t working.”

Judge Norton said the system produced a loss every year from 2004-10, when the brochures said it was returning profits.

Investigating officer Det Con Stuart Champion said: “Thompson abused the trust placed in him by some of his closest friends and investors.

"He provided them with fake data and drew up complex documents such as an executive summary and prospectus to win them over and convince them to put their money in.

"Some of their money was invested into bets but they were never successful as Thompson never made a profit during the time he ran the syndicate.

"The rest of the money was spent by Thompson on holidays, his wedding and expensive cars while some of his investors struggled to make ends meet as a result.”