Five men have been jailed for their part in an “utterly ruthless” fraud which used a bogus firm in Shropshire as a front to steal almost £2 million.

The company used offices in Ludlow which were run by 52-year-old David Usher who lived in the market town.

After a 10-week trial a jury at Worcester Crown Court was yesterday unable to reach a verdict in his case and Usher was released on bail pending a prosecution decision to seek a retrial.

Usher, of Pepper Lane, Ludlow, and formerly of Market Street, had run offices and administered bank accounts, but denied he was part of the conspiracy.

The bogus company, Prudential Commercial Investments, used offices at The Case Mill in Ludlow, and was set up to fleece unsuspecting investors.

The fraud, said to be “clever, sophisticated and utterly ruthless”, targeted dozens of UK citizens who were living abroad.

At court yesterday Peter Roope, 52, was jailed for four years and eight months and his right hand man, Gareth Matthews, also 52, was jailed for four years.

Roope, said to be the driving force and who had taken the bulk of the money, and Matthews, formerly of Cardiff, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Both had been living under false names in Prague in the Czech Republic.

Three other men, Charles Frisby, 65, of Rotherham Douglas Miller, 50, of Worksop, Nottingham, and John Roope, Peter Roope’s twin, of Bradford, were found guilty of the conspiracy.

Judge Alistair McCreath jailed Frisby for four-and-a-half years, Miller for three-and-a-half and John Roope for two years.