Two men were being sentenced this morning after a jury found them guilty of the biggest fraud ever investigated by Norfolk police.

Alan Hunt and Arthur 'Trevor' Ford-Batey face lengthy prison sentences for their roles in the �12m defrauding of Norwich philanthropist Graham Dacre. Both denied conspiracy to defraud and money-laundering.

A third defendant, Ian Yorkshire, 62, from Brighton, was cleared of conspiracy to defraud Mr Dacre and a German church but found guilty on Wednesday of helping to launder Mr Dacre's funds as well as 10 million euros belonging to the church in Dortmund.

The cash was paid into Yorkshire's Swiss bank account by Mr Dacre and the church and then transferred to accounts around the world.

Mr Dacre, who used his car dealership fortune to fund the Open Venue and Open Academy in Norwich, gave �12m to the conmen in spring 2008.

Over a four-month trial, Norwich Crown Court was told that the businessman, ranked 927 in the Sunday Times 2011 rich list, had been looking for a high-yield investment scheme.

Hunt appeared to provide him with access to an exclusive club, reserved for wealthy philanthropists.

The 65-year-old, from Poole, became a friend of Mr Dacre, visiting him at his Norwich home, playing on his religious beliefs and promising huge returns on his investment.

To impress Hunt, Mr Dacre took him to meet the bishop of Norwich and the then Norwich South MP Charles Clarke. He also showed him his projects in the city.

In return, Hunt told the born-again Christian about his own charitable work in Rwanda and how he was desperate to get back to Africa to build water projects.

Investigating officer Det Con Chris Gay said: 'Although the amounts lost by the victims in this matter were substantial, and the way in which they were convinced to part with their funds was complex; it was essentially a simple confidence trick, and the principle remains that if an investment proposal looks too good to be true then it almost certainly is.'

Mr Dacre invested in May 2008 and the money was supposed to be put into the secretive high-yield trading platform days after he wired it to Switzerland. But the trading platform was mythical and tweed-clad Hunt, who at various points in the defrauding of Mr Dacre and the German church, presented himself as a barrister and ex-military man, turned out to be nothing more than a skilful conman.

Mr Dacre travelled to Zurich in 2008 and an account was set up for him, despite warnings from his close friend and advisor, Anthony Bunker, that the scheme was a fraud.

He has not been able to recover his money since investing.

Det Insp Brian Beech, who leads Norfolk police's economic crime unit, said: 'The offenders targeted individuals and organisations that believed in ethical investment, and falsely persuaded them that a portion of their profits from the investments would benefit humanitarian projects.

'Once obtained, the money was quickly spirited away into a number of foreign bank accounts and then used to support the offenders' lifestyle, while stringing along the victims over a period of months, and in some cases years, with false promises regarding the return of the funds and payment of profits.

'At the same time they were claiming to be involved in humanitarian projects aimed at some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people around the world.'

Mr Dacre, who sold Lind Automotive Group in 2006 for �108m, said he was relieved the trial was over and thanked Norfolk police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

'We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks for the support we have received over the last four months from so many people.'

Dortmund's New Apostolic Church approached the Serious Fraud Office in London after Norfolk police had begun their three-year investigation into the fraud of Mr Dacre.

In December 2007 two men from the church met Hunt in London, and discussed the investment programme which, they believed, used European grants and subsidies for humanitarian projects. At the conclusion of the 13-month programme the money would be returned to the church to be used for its humanitarian work.

The church signed an agreement to invest 10 million euros.

The jury, which took 39 hours to return verdicts on Hunt and Ford-Batey, cleared Hunt of a third fraud charge against Utah commodities dealer Randall Schreiber in 2004, while Ford-Batey was found not guilty of defrauding the church.

Mr Schreiber invested $920,000 in the scheme but the three defendants in his case were all cleared of fraud and money-laundering.

Three other men – Kevin Brennan, 55, from Driffield, Martin Brennan, 40, from Stockton-on-Tees and David 'Fraser' Roberts, 62, from Brighton – were found not guilty by the jury on Wednesday of any involvement in the fraud and money-laundering.

Five of the six defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to defraud while Martin Brennan had denied the one charge he faced of laundering Mr Dacre's money.

tom.bristow@archant.co.uk