VICTIMS of Wirral businessman Malcolm Barber, who ruthlessly ripped-off millions from elderly investors, are hopeful they may recover their losses after a court ruling.

A judge has found that Barber swindled £5.7m from his victims, who had been cheated out of their life savings and retirement funds in a complex scam.

The disgraced financial advisor was jailed for four years in January 2014 the fraudulent scheme came to light.

The 71-year-old from Wallasey and his sidekick Terry Warrington, from Morecambe, took victims’ money on the promise of sky-high returns, with many handing over their life savings and retirement funds.

One pensioner lost a staggering £400,000.

The pair ran two firms – Gentry and Dublin – that promised “complete security” bonds to investors but instead their cash was loaned to high-risk people who had been turned down by the banks.

The duo were left with nothing when their two companies collapsed in 2007 owing more than £5m.

Judge Christopher Cornwall at Preston Crown Court ruled Barber must repay £5.7m he had amassed from the scam.

He rejected defence argument that just £900,000 should be confiscated.

But victims must wait until the legal process of identifying his assets is completed.

Wallasey widow Eileen Dunn, 72, who lost more than £30,000 in the swindle, said: "I'm obviously very glad on behalf of all the investors that Malcolm Barber will no longer be able to profit from other people's misery.

"But we're hardly jubilant.

“There are no victors in this. Just a lot of very unhappy people including, I would assume, those who were close to Barber and, like the investors, completely taken in by him.

"It's been a long five years to get to this point, during which that man refused to engage at all with people who were rightly concerned about the whereabouts of their life savings.

"The police and the prosecution team have done a superb job under very trying circumstances, and against an adversary who refused to budge an inch from his arrogant pretence of innocence, even though the evidence against him was enormous and concrete.

"However, we're not at the end of the road yet.

"A year ago he was pleading innocence.

“At court this week his barrister said it was possible he owed up to £900,000. So it seems he was finally admitting being a 'bit' guilty after all.

"Lying and obfuscating seems to be in his DNA, sadly, but I'm confident the investigation team has more than got the measure of Barber."

Warrington admitted fraud and theft and was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

The court will reconvene in September after investigations into Barber’s assets.