Transgender fraudster pocketed £130k by duping over 100 people Frances Harris persuaded investors to plough savings into investment Sold shares in a bogus company which he claimed was based in Spain By the time investors realised they had been deceived, firm had closed She was born a man but now lives as a woman and has breast implants A transgender conman who pocketed £130,000 by tricking more than 100 people into buying shares in a fake company has been jailed for five years. Frances Harris, 74, of Brighton, East Sussex, who was previously known as Frederick, persuaded investors to plough their savings into an investment opportunity backed by multi-millionaires. She used the names of rich businessmen to lure in people, who were then sold shares in a bogus company called The Golden Age Project - which she claimed was based in Spain, but did not exist. Jailed: Frances Harris, who was born a man (left) but lives as a woman (right), was sentenced to five years after being found guilty of fraud, money laundering and fraudulently claiming £27,000 in benefits, police said By the time investors realised they had been deceived, the company had closed down. Harris was the leader in the con, supported by a couple who helped launder the money through accounts. Graham Lewis, Rosemary Nye and Harris set up Rest Assured Property Services in 2010 and sold timeshare apartments by phone. Victims paid a fee they were told was needed before a sale could be completed. Around 100 people lost their life savings. Harris was also convicted of using his dead sister Pamela's passport to illegally claim £27,000 in benefits - despite her dying around 50 years ago. Harris, who has breast implants, gained £130,000 from the scam but his accomplices - husband and wife team Rosemary Nye and Graham Lewis - raked in more than £700,000 between them. Lewis, from Haywards Heath, was jailed for four and a half years for four offences of fraud by false representation and eight offences of money laundering. Nye, also from Haywards Heath, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years for one offence of fraud by false representation and five offences of money laundering. Huge scam: Frances Harris (left, pictured in her police mugshot) and her co-defendants, Graham Lewis (right), 50, and Rosemary Nye, 52, both of Haywards Heath, contacted victims by telephone between 2009 and 2010 People across the country reported losing a total of at least £500,000 which has never been recovered, a police spokesman said. Sentencing: Frances Harris, who has breast implants, gained £130,000 from the scam Defending Harris, Nicholas Fooks, said his client could not complete the full physical change to become a woman because they had cancer. He said: "He cannot complete the physical change from a man into a woman... The prison is trying its best to protect him but it's impossible to protect him 24 hours a day." The court heard that mother-of-two Nye and Lewis used the profits to go on a honeymoon to Dubai, as well as buy lavish gifts and fund their child's driving lessons. Defending Nye, Andrew Jefferies QC, said she only took part in the dishonesty because of her links to Lewis, who she is now separated from. "She believed his background was in business," she said. It was all plausible. She paints a pathetic figure. Jai Patel, defending Lewis, admitted he was the key person behind the cruel scam. Harris was jailed for five years at Lewes Crown Court yesterday. Lewis was jailed for four-and-a-half years, and Nye was handed a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to carry out unpaid work. Sentencing the trio, Judge Shani Barnes said they had a "disregard" for who they deceived. She added: "Frances Harris, you were the head of this. It was executed like professionals. It was a sophisticated and long-term fraud. Detective Constable Julie Beckwith, of the Sussex Police Major Fraud Unit, said the offences came to light in 2010 when people across the UK started contacting police to say they had been defrauded. It was a sophisticated and long-term fraud Judge Shani Barnes Officers soon realised that Sussex was the centre for the operation. She said: "The defendants were operating from their addresses and at one point during the 2010/11 operation they were also using a rented office space in Crawley, essentially for receipt of mail. We do admire the five victims, one of whom was from Sussex, who were called by the prosecution and gave compelling evidence at the trial which helped show the jury the evil way in which they were defrauded. This case is a salutary reminder to everyone, especially the more elderly in our communities, not to be taken in by cold callers on the phone. Do not ever agree to anything there and then. Check it out, using legal advice, family and friends to help.