Three Ponzi scheme fraudsters who scammed investors out of almost £80 million and spent the money on cars, yachts and luxury houses have been told they will not be able to appeal against their sentences.

Spencer Steinberg, 46, Michael Strubel, 54, and Jolan Saunders, 40, were jailed in May 2016 after attracting investment by fraudulently claiming they had won a contract to supply electrical products to the Olympic Village ahead of the 2012 London Games.

The trio also said Saunders Electrical Wholesalers Limited (SEWL) supplied goods such as trouser presses and kettles to major hotel chains, but it turned out SEWL was high street electrical retailer in east London.

Saunders pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud and to acting as a director of a company whilst disqualified, receiving a seven year sentence.

Steinberg and Strubel denied the charges, but were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Southwark Crown Court in February last year, and were jailed for six years and seven years, respectively.

The trio’s renewed applications for leave to appeal against the sentences were refused this week at the Court of Appeal.

It was their last chance to appeal. The Serious Fraud Office confirmed confiscation proceedings to recover assets are in progress.

It was revealed last year that victims were persuaded to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds– and in two cases, millions - over a period of two months so SEWL could meet urgent orders, to be then paid sky-high returns.