Women guilty of €26m pyramid scheme

A band of "greedy" women masterminded a £21m (€26m) get-rich-quick scheme — fleecing at least 10,000 victims.

The group used mass e-mails and “champagne celebration nights” to encourage women to “beg, borrow or steal” £3,000 to invest in the scam.

Victims were lured by the promise they would receive a £24,000 payout when they reached the top of their pyramid chart, with organisers promising they “could not lose”.