A dishonest wine broker who revelled in a luxury lifestyle by defrauding investors out of about £420,000 has been jailed for more than four years.

Harry Mosley’s company preyed on mostly elderly people, many of whom have been left struggling financially.

A judge told him: “One of the striking things about this case is to see from victim personal statements how widespread and, in some cases, how unexpected this sort of crime is.

“This was a sustained, planned multiple victim fraud, also a heartless and cruel one which greatly damaged a number of lives.”

Mosley, formerly of Bradbourne Vale Road, Sevenoaks, blew a kiss to his father and put his thumb up as he was led to the cells to serve his sentence of four years and four months.

The 25-year-old, now of Westerham Road, Keston, changed his not guilty pleas to guilty to two offences of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation part-way through his trial.

He had admitted two other fraud conspiracy charges on “a limited basis”.

Maidstone Crown Court heard he and others cold-called customers on behalf of his company Optimum Fine Wine and cheated them out of portfolios or large amounts of cash.

They had been promised profit in return for buying, swapping or selling wine through the company.

But the clients received little or no money from sales of their own wine collections, and wine they bought or swapped never materialised, said prosecutor Dale Sullivan.

Instead, director Mosley “cut and run” and spent the money on high living.

He splashed about £100,000 at bars, restaurants and hotels and bought luxury goods and designer clothes.

Mosley also gambled £57,000 on spread betting, took a holiday in Dubai and gave his girlfriend £23,320. He paid himself £112,000 and sold a luxury Bentley car.

Some customers lost entire wine portfolios after they were sold on by the company to wholesalers.

One, aged 84, handed over £205,460 for wine to be purchased and then held in warehouse storage at London City Bond, but none was bought and no money was refunded.

Another who agreed to swap his collection with others through the company transferred more than £56,000 in wine, but only two cases were delivered to his account and he lost just over £49,000.

Fifteen customers were duped by the company between September 2012 and May 2014, losing a total of £436,792. At least two had since died.

Optimum Fine Wine was set up in September 2012 by Mosley helped by a £61,000 loan from his parents.

It was first based in Croydon, Surrey, and then moved to Wellington House in Church Road, Tunbridge Wells.

Several statements in which victims told how they had been affected by being conned out of large sums of money were read out.

“It has had an impact with the removal of their retirement cushion,” said Mr Sullivan.

Judge Charles Macdonald QC said the net gain from the fraud was £650,000 and the loss was nearer £450,000.

“This was a widespread fraud practised from an early time,” he said. “The only mitigation is your youth at the time - 22 - and remorse. This is high culpability fraud.”

Craig Harris, defending, said Mosley, who had continued to work in sales and has a job waiting for him when released, accepted full responsibility.

“They were not going out looking for vulnerable people to defraud,” he said. “It was always likely they would be the older generation with spare money.

“This is a high value fraud. The real aggravation is the value lost by these victims. People in the latter stages of their lives lost a lot of money.

“It was greed. He got used to the high life and carried it on. He was spending tens of thousands of pounds on spread betting.

“He has seen the effects from the impact statements that his conduct has had on people he didn’t really see as people. They were just names on a piece of paper.”

The judge made a serious crime prevention order restricting Mosley’s business activities for five years.

An order was also made to seize the company computers, his iPhone, iPad, a Mulberry bag and paintings.

A confiscation hearing will be held in August.

Mosley’s co-accused Bradley Deadman, 23, of Lodge Road, Tonbridge, and Lewis Hearson, 22, of Dowgate Close, Tonbridge, denied four charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and were acquitted by the jury.