A FORMER Warrington police officer was at the centre of a massive fraud which led to a company collapsing with a $33m black hole.

Ex-Cheshire sergeant Frederick Taylor, 61, was jailed for 36 months after the huge scam which left scores of investors worldwide empty-handed.

Jailing Taylor, Judge David Swift said his background of 30 years in the force had given people “comfort” their money was safe.

He added: “Your dishonest conduct was at the heart of what took place and you were directly responsible for the losses that many experienced.”

Liverpool Crown Court heard the scam centred around accomplice Paul De Rome, who claimed he had created a process to extract gold from waste ore.

He became convinced he could make huge profits and set about selling his “extravagant claims” to others.

De Rome was helped by Taylor, whom he met in 1996.

The former police officer set about raising massive investment for De Rome's company Anglo-American Metals through his own finance firms Maincrest Investments and London and General.

But, while Taylor promised people they were buying into lucrative high-yield investments with 100% returns and no risk, in reality it was going to De Rome's ambitious project. Almost $9m was invested by 30 individuals.