A two-and-a-half year investigation by a regional daily journalist has led to the jailing of two financial advisors who duped elderly investors.

Jon Griffin, business editor at the Birmingham Mail, exclusively revealed the actions of two conmen, Gary Hexley, 51, and John Cooper, 56, who carried out an investment scam.

Jon covered the story from July 2011 and this led to the arrest of the pair in November that year and subsequent charges made against them.

Hexley, from Barton-under-Needwood, near Lichfield, was jailed for two years last week and Cooper, of Sutton Coldfield, was jailed for nine months after they were found guilty of six charges and two charges respectively under the Financial Services and Markets Act.

When they were sentenced following a five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Michael Chambers QC highlighted the “adverse publicity” from the Mail’s investigation which brought the scam to an end.

He said: “You each abused trust placed in you by clients for your own selfish ends. You did so in a cynical and systematic manner. This is by no means a victimless crime because elderly people were put at risk.

“Your activities came to an end purely because of the adverse publicity. Had it not been for this publicity I am quite satisfied you were each prepared to play a part in enabling this high-risk activity to continue.”

The court was told that Hexley had netted more than £74,000 from the scam, while Cooper had gained more than £6,000 in commission when they were not authorised to give financial advice over an 18-month period.

Jon’s investigation revealed the plight of several investors in the Sutton Coldfield and Tamworth area who had lost their life savings, which were later recouped after months of seeking compensation, after initially being rejected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

After publicising the plight of investors, the paper also raised the issue with local MPs, including Tamworth MP Christopher Pincher, who spoke about it in the House of Commons.

Many investors have now recouped thousands of pounds of their life savings and have publicly thanked the Mail for its coverage of the saga.

In a leader piece in the Mail following the sentencing, Jon wrote: “Former financial whiz-kids Gary Hexley and John Cooper woke up in jail today after a scam described by Judge Michael Chambers QC as ‘cynical and systematic’.

“But well over 200 investors targeted by the two crooks, many of them elderly, have been waking up every day for years worrying about whether they would ever recoup large losses of up to £80,000.

“Their living nightmare is partially over after this pair of deluded, arrogant conmen found themselves behind bars for duping the most vulnerable members of society.

“The judge was undoubtedly right to jail Hexley and Cooper, and it is gratifying that he highlighted the ‘adverse publicity’ from the Mail’s investigation which stopped the Sutton Coldfield duo dead in their tracks.

“But it is hard not to feel deep sympathy for their victims who sat in the public gallery at Birmingham Crown Court to watch the men who cynically betrayed their trust jailed.

“Those pensioners were deceived in the most arrogant manner by Hexley, a man they had trusted with their life savings, even if some eventually regained their losses.

“Hexley will be a free man again in a year or so, Cooper within months. They may have lost their liberty temporarily, but hundreds of victims lost their peace of mind for years, quite possibly.”