Graham Price, the former financial consultant that filled in newspapers pages some weeks ago, after having been accused of fraud by Court, has been jailed. Price had stolen 10 million pounds for funding his gambling habit. Now, he will have to be in jail for 12 years for having swindled individual investors that trusted him and lost it all.

58-year-old Price stole millions of pounds from individual investors and from the Halifax Bank, where he worked as an agent. Individual investors lost huge amounts of money, which were their savings in most cases, homes, inheritances, and some had to return to work instead of retiring comfortably as they had planned.

The Swansea Crown Court sentenced him to 12 years of prison. Judge John Diehl said that Prices deceit was so great that he could not find the adequate words to describe his behavior. He described it was a breach of trust of the grossest order.

Price had actually stolen more money than it was estimated initially. He stole from 84 elderly investors during four years. He spent 1,7 million pounds on racing tipsters. Prices gambling habits began earlier on his youth. When he was 19, he started to make small bets. His barrister, Peter Douglas-Jones tried to excuse his clients behavior and added that Price did not blame anyone but himself. He wanted to make clear that his wife and son had nothing to do with the fraud and even did not know about the seriousness of his gambling habit. Even when he was arrested, Price thought that he could pay his debt with one more week betting on horses. Mr Douglas-Jones said that his client deeply regretted his deeds, and begged for his early guilty pleas to be taken into account by the court.

After having worked as a process operator in a chemical company, he worked as a financial adviser from home. In 2001, his gambling problems got worse. He subscribed to the Racing Post and even owned 13 racehorses. On one of them he spent almost 70.000 pounds. He had an online betting account and a phone account, although the amount of money he spent on both is not clear.

Price was caught when a surprise audit last November found 7 million pounds in the safe of the Gowerton Branch Agency near Swansea, which he ran. Price said that he had left the money there for his personnel not to get involved.

Graham Price admitted 43 charges of thefts. The representative of the Graham Price Victims Support Group showed their satisfaction with the sentencing and accused Price of having ruined their lives and breached their trust, stealing them shameless for his own greed. She added that Price deserves to be punished.