Celebrities, sports stars and high profile businessmen are among those duped into an alleged £80 million Ponzi scheme, that police claim was so convincing many of its victims cannot accept they have been scammed, the Daily Telegraph reports.

City of London Police suspect at least 600 people around the world have lost huge sums invested in an allegedly bogus high-yield fund. They said it is one of the biggest Ponzi frauds, a crime made famous by disgraced Wall Street broker Bernard Madoff, ever detected in Britain.

Police said several alleged victims have already lost their homes, others have been declared bankrupt and some have attempted suicide. Two families lost huge sums of money they had saved from years of benefits to help pay for the long-term care of their disabled children.

The criminal investigation focuses on a Knightsbridge-based finance firm and several companies linked to it, the newspaper says.

Last month master fraudster Madoff was jailed for 150 years for orchestrating a £39.5bn Ponzi scheme, the largest ever seen in the United States.

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