A FAKE duke has been jailed after conning family-run businesses out of almost £2million.

Career con artist Alexander Wood, 36, previously of Clifftown Parade, Southend, was sentenced to seven years in jail for his latest scam, with his accomplice who he met in prison jailed for nine years.

Wood, now of Royal College Street, London, admitted 11 counts of fraud and one of money laundering at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Wood’s role was to contact finance departments at businesses claiming he was a senior fraud advisor at the bank.

Using spoof software he was able to convince them they were infected with the “wannacry” virus and they would need to make “offline” payments to check.

In fact the 12 companies were instead transferring money to accounts before the money was quickly withdrawn.

Losses against three companies totalled £1.8million, with one alone losing £1.3million.

Wood and Muhammed Azhar, 40, of Sewall Highway, Coventry, were tracked down at a house in London by the Met Police’s cyber crime squad.

They were arrested in January having conned architects, an estate agency, a removals firm, building contractors and a demolition company.

During the con calls Wood even boasted about buying his accomplice a Rolex watch as the transfer was taking place.

Det Insp Phil McInerney said: “Wood and Azhar carried out a series of despicable offences which have understandably had a devastating impact on their victims.

“They targeted hard-working, family-run businesses throughout the UK using a mixture of sophisticated cyber techniques and social engineering, leading the companies’ accountants to believe that their companies’ assets were at risk.

“Wood and Azhar enjoyed luxury lifestyles, staying in five-star hotels, drinking champagne and being driven around in luxury cars at the expense of their victims.”

Det Con Mary-Anne Dickson said: “They are career fraudsters who are part of a larger network that we are currently closing in on. We will not rest until they are all brought to justice.”

Wood previously posed as the Duke of Marlborough conning top London hotels.

After being caught he claimed he was only doing it to seek refuge from criminals in Southend however it is understood he was hiding in luxury from others he had conned.

On this occasion, in 2015, he was jailed for three-and-a-half years but released early.