Fraudulent ‘Ferrari’ driver, 18, is jailed

A teenager who boasted of turning a £2,000 investment from his father into £21m (€29m) has been jailed for more than two years after admitting fraud.

Sam Cook, aged 18, claimed he drove a £165,000 Ferrari, splashed out on a “lavish lifestyle” of expensive holidays and antiques and lived in a waterfront apartment.

He used the illusion of wealth to convince his parents’ friends and business associates to hand over their life savings for him to invest on the stock markets.

Plymouth Crown Court heard Cook, of Okehampton, Devon, took £110,000 from six victims, repeatedly assuring them the money was making a good return.

Detectives began investigating after an interview with Cook appeared in his local newspaper and they discovered his “£165,000 Ferrari” was actually a £20,000 replica.

Cook later pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by false representation and admitted he had spent all but £6,000 of the cash funding an expensive lifestyle for himself.

He also entered a guilty plea to a charge of driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

He was jailed for 24 months for the fraud and had three points put on his driving licence.