An agent described as nothing but a conman after a £700,000 scam has been jailed for five years.

Jeffrey Gadsen, 60, was convicted of fraud after conning over 100 people.

He used the money to prop up his business, Walker Professional Property Services, in east London.

Some of his victims were left penniless. One lost £90,000.

Most of his victims owned properties in blocks of flats, who had banded together as private companies.

The owners went to MP Stephen Timms when Walker Professional Property Services went into liquidation in 2013, and he in turn went to the police.

At Snaresbrook Court, Judge Lawrence West-Knight said Gadsden had maintained his innocence “until the bitter end”, helping himself to customers’ money.