The tree former directors of Ethical Forestry Ltd have been sentenced to a combined 15 years and nine months after defrauding 3,000 people out of £70m.

Matthew Pickard, 56, Stephen Greenaway, 47 and Paul Laver, 47 from Bournemouth were the directors of Ethical Forestry Ltd, a company believed to plant trees in Costa Rica.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) told Southwark Crown Court that its investigation into Ethical Forestry Ltd uncovered how the former directors ran a Bournemouth-based call centre, cold-calling and persuading members of the public to withdraw and invest funds from their pension schemes into the company.

The court also hear that when EFL collapsed in 2015 due to missing money and a huge unpaid tax bill, investors lost their money.

The judge told the men: "Funds were spent as if you had each won the lottery. (You) turned the company into your personal bank account from which you would in theory be able to borrow money at will."

While two million trees planted in Costa Rica, the directors failed to invest further funds that would secure the trees long-term life and health.

The defendants were seen to spend the stolen money on funding luxury lifestyles, for example purchasing sports cars, homes and holidays across Europe and Asia.

£2.77 million of investor money was also diverted and used to administer a tax avoidance scheme for the directors’ own benefit.

Director of the SFO, Graham McNulty, comments on the case:

"These former directors preyed on people’s good intentions to support a ‘green’ investment, stealing £70 million from hard-earned life savings and pensions.

"Our thorough investigation exposed this fraudulent scheme, and the strength of our evidence led us to secure three guilty pleas, resulting in today’s sentence. This is an important step towards justice."

Pickard was sentenced to six years in prison for fraudulent trading. Greenaway was sentenced to five years and three months, while Laver was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. All three have also been disqualified from acting as directors for ten years.