A man from Ilford has admitted his involvement with a £13m fraud scam while another from Brentwood was acquitted at trial.

In May 2017, detectives from the Essex Police serious economic crime unit were alerted to a property-related fraud after being contacted by an an investor who claimed to have fallen victim.

This prompted an investigation which found that more than 800 people had invested between £5,000 and £140,000 with Essex and London Properties Ltd (ELP).

ELP - set up in 2015 - claimed to buy properties along the Crossrail route running from London to Essex, which would then be refurbished and re-sold at a profit.

But only one property was ever bought.

The fraud raised over £13 million from the investors, leading to seven men being charged.

Mohammed Tanveer, 33, of Coventry Road in Ilford, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of fraud.

Six other men - including 34-year-old Anthony Whymark, of Brooking House in Brentwood - stood trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Whymark - alongside 35-year-old Mitchell Mallin, of Little Waltham - was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy to launder on April 22.

Four other men, from varying locations such as Writtle, Leytonstone, Lowestoft and Kidlington, were convicted of varying fraud offences on the same date.

Jurors arrived at their verdicts after 34 hours of deliberations and an 11-week trial.

They - alongside Tanveer - will be sentenced at the same court on July 25.

Det Con Greig Avery, from the serious economic crime unit, said: “This was a sophisticated scam which financially impacted a large number of victims and I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to stop them in their tracks and ensure that they answer for their crimes.”

A confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will be held in due course.

ELP was placed into liquidation as a result of a winding up petition in 2018.