THE crooked brother of Dudley South MP Ian Pearson has been jailed for four and a half years for conning a string of vulnerable victims out of nearly £700,000.

Martin Pearson, of Sandy Lane, Tettenhall, used his position as a financial advisor to persuade his victims to invest sums of money ranging from £10,000 to £226,000.

But 48-year-old Pearson took the entire life savings of Dudley nurse Linda Raybould and just over £200,000 belonging to another woman from Codsall.

Wolverhampton Crown Court, which sat at Merry Hill, heard how Pearson got in touch with Mrs Raybould, of Wilmot Gardens, just days after the tragic death of her husband Neil who was killed in a road accident. Claiming he was a friend of her late partner, Pearson offered to help with her finances.

But Mrs Raybould’s money went straight into the pockets of the evil conman to help satisfy his gambling addiction.

Pearson pleaded guilty to seven charges of theft and another of forgery for the offences, which the court were told were committed between May 2004 and May 2008.

Pearson, who created bogus insurance policies for his seven victims, was finally rumbled when Mrs Raybould demanded documents relating to her investments.

Mother-of-four, Mrs Raybould, who works for Sandwell Primary Care Trust hired a financial consultant to audit her accounts and it was then that Pearson admitted her money had gone.

She described Pearson who stole a total of £694,000 as the "lowest of the low" and admitted she was delighted he was now spending time behind bars.

She said: “I felt he was a friend I could trust. He gave me a number of fraudulent documents to say my money had been carefully invested."

Rhiannon Jones for the prosecution said Pearson targeted vulnerable victims because he felt they were “easy prey” and he only brought his criminality to an end because he knew he was about to be arrested.

Recorder Simon Drew told Pearson they were serious offences and only a substantial prison sentence was appropriate for what was a major breach of trust.