AN ADVERTISING firm that defrauded its customers out of millions of pounds is being ordered to repay thousands to its victims.

The directors of Wyvern Media, which has an office in Slough, were found at Nottingham Crown Court to have lied to businesses about their distribution figures and mislead them into thinking their businesses would be promoted at high-profile events linked to their sector.

One scam they employed involved encouraging people to buy advertising space by claiming they were from The Telegraph when they were actually referring to a smaller-scale South East Telegraph publication.

Another scam involved telling businesses they had won an award from a publication linked to Wyvern Media, but would only receive it and the advertising if they paid a fee. They were also found to use aggressive selling techniques such as cold calls, and made unauthorised withdrawals from customers’ bank accounts.

One of the nine directors being forced to return hundreds of thousands in fraudulently acquired money is Joanne Soen, 35, of Farm Crescent, Slough. She has been given a confiscation order of £114,494 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, and must repay it within three months or face a 12-month prison sentence.

During the court proceedings in October 2016, Mrs Soen pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading and received a two-year suspended sentence, and a five-year ban on being a director.

She was sentenced alongside the head of the company, managing director Jonathan Louis Rivers, who was given six years in prison and a 10-year ban on being a director. He was later given a confiscation order for £1.2 million.

The frauds by her and her colleagues left ruined businesses, lost homes, and broken relationships in their wake.

One travel agency collapsed after losing £5,898 to the scams. They charged a small fee to place an advert, but then continued to place adverts without the owner’s authorisation, taking money from her account each time.

Much of the confiscated money will go towards compensating victims, plus funding further investigations into the company