This is the crooked Doncaster businessman who swindled his victims out of hundreds of thousands of pounds, conning them into believe him he was a millionaire university professor with degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge University.

In reality, Neil Stafford was a bent businessman from Doncaster – and his massive fraud has now landed him behind bars for nine years after he was jailed yesterday.

Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, Stafford, 60, of Broad Lane, Sykehouse, also disqualified from being a company director for 15 years when he appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

A unanimous jury found Stafford guilty of seven counts of fraud by false representation, following an eight-week trial.

Doncaster fraudster Neil Stafford is now behind bars.

placeholder image — Doncaster fraudster Neil Stafford is now behind bars.

Stafford’s fraud offences took place between June 2011 and December 2014.

During that time, Stafford was the director of healthcare, technology and industrial companies.

But he made many false claims in relation to the investments and his achievements in order to get the victims to invest. He would lure victims in by claiming some of the following:

He had graduated from both Oxford and Cambridge University
He was a professor at Oxford University
He was a millionaire
His companies had business relationships with Oxford University, large blue chip companies, and banking institutions
His company was a leading supplier of pharmaceuticals and medical products, owning hospitals and primary care centres.

Stafford offered a number of victims the opportunity to invest in a scheme described as ‘Friends and Family’. It gave an opportunity for people to invest in him or his companies to make money from his success.

The investments varied between victims, but included shares in the company, medical deals, and oil and gas deals.

In total, seven victims invested a sum of £882,000. The money was not invested as intended, but was in fact spent on Stafford’s extravagant lifestyle.

He was arrested on 5 June 2015, charged on 3 February 2023, and convicted on 19 November 2025.

Detective Constable Neil Rudge of the Economic Crime Unit and South East Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “Neil Stafford exploited the trust placed in him by the victims who believed their money was being responsibly invested, all for his own personal gain.

“I hope the outcome of Stafford’s sentencing reassures that we take fraud extremely seriously. We remain committed to pursuing those who target trusting members of our community and bring them to justice.”

“I’d like to remind everyone that fraud can happen to anyone. If you’re affected, please report it to Report Fraud.”