A trio of fraudsters who spent millions on supercars after conning investors with a £70million eco-Ponzi scheme are facing years in jail.More than 3,000 people put their hard-earned savings into Bournemouth-based company Ethical Forestry Limited (EFL) between January 2008 and December 2015.Eco-conscious investors were assured they were 'making the world a better place' by planting trees in Costa Rica - with the promise of 'massive returns' between 10 to 25 years later when these would supposedly be harvested and sold for timber.However, company directors Stephen Greenaway and Paul Laver, both 48, and Matthew Pickard, 55, became 'consumed' by their access to the funds which they blew on Italian supercars, multi-million-pound mansions and luxury holidays.They each pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading after showing a 'cynical and calculated disregard of investors' interests'.EFL was established in 2007 with the premise of asking for investment to plant trees.Pickard was the dominant player with a 65 per cent share in the company, while Greenaway and Laver had 17.5 per cent each.In total, 48 plots of land were purchased for £10million and two million trees were sold between 2008 and 2015. Employees considered majority shareholder Matthew Pickard 'dominant' and 'number one', the court heard Stephen Greenaway (pictured) bought outright a £1.9million home known as 'Moonbeam' in the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, Dorset Paul Laver (pictured) was said by witnesses to be 'the least significant figure' of the three directors, but was still a key decision maker and 'extensively' involvedThe investments ranged from a minimum of £10,000 to the largest injection of £200,000 for 1,000 trees.The company targeted green-minded backers, advertising an 'intoxicating blend of hard finance and ecological consciousness' while claiming: 'With us make huge amounts of money and also make the world a better place.'It even issued a newsletter called 'Ethical Times'.The deal was made more attractive by EFL's offer to cover the costs of tree care and harvest processing, while paying out short-term returns from periodical 'thinning harvests'.In reality, the company directors led it to financial collapse by withdrawing money for themselves, and returns from supposed 'thinning harvests' were funded by new investors.Prosecutor Kevin Dent, KC, told Southwark Crown Court: 'These returns were used as a key springboard to lure many others into the tree scheme.'This may be described as a Ponzi element with this "thinning harvest" so these harvest return payments papered over the reality of the situation of the company.'The defendants' dishonest actions displaced their appetite for top-end property, high-end cars, and yachts, with the investors - with devastating consequences for many of them. Greenaway's car is pictured. He spent £1.3million on 26 cars - including three Ferraris, five Porsches, and a McLaren MP4-12C'EFL's investors were individuals who all put their trust in the company's promises and invested their savings and pensions.'The defendants also paid the company Blackstar £2.7million for a tax avoidance scheme that created a £40million tax liability, then continued to withdraw around £17m from the company - leaving it unable to pay off HMRC.This worsened the company's outlook by £28million, the court heard.'The defendants put their own interests and desire for financial gain ahead of the investors. The tree scheme was anything but safe and eventually collapsed like a house of cards,' Mr Dent said.'The defendants' taste for luxury cars would have surprised EFL's investors who were all attracted to the notion this was a high-minded and ethical company.'One employee noted it used to be a running joke if members of the public came in to speak to the company sports cars were moved from the ethical parking spaces.'Pickard's 'frivolous' spending included the purchase of expensive gadgets, while his partners splashed cash on designer clothes, home redevelopment, and 'career breaks'.One former employee said: 'They treated money like it had no value. They were extremely frivolous and careless with money. When staying with Stephen he would drive us in his cars. I know he had at least two Ferraris. I know he had a black Porsche.'The director seemed to have a new expensive car every time he saw us. Stephen told us he was leasing an ever-rolling list of cars. When I saw his cars, I was not impressed but it took us a while to become concerned about their expensive lifestyles.'Another employee, Susan Cox, noted: 'The defendants had a luxury lifestyle. We sat on the top floor of the building. You always knew when they arrived at the office because you could hear their top-of-the-range flash cars roaring into the parking area.'I was also aware they lived in very expensive houses. Money was no object.'The directors amassed a collection of high-end sports cars including a Maserati Nero Granturismo, Ferrari 458 Italia, McLaren MP4-12C, Audi R8 V10 Spyder, and Porsche 911 Turbo S, while enjoying luxury holidays in Italy, Mexico, France, Gran Canaria, the Maldives, and Switzerland.Mr Dent said Pickard spent £4.3million on a property, £30,000 on garden tiles, £283,000 on a yacht, and £170,000 on holidays, flights and travel - including £47,000 for a week-long holiday at a Swiss chalet.Greenaway bought outright a £1.9million home known as 'Moonbeam' in the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Poole, Dorset, where former football managers Harry Redknapp, Graeme Souness, and Tony Pulis also own properties.As well as purchasing 'Moonbeam ', Greenaway spent £1.3million on 26 cars - including three Ferraris, five Porsches, and a McLaren MP4-12C - £58,000 on watches and jewellery, and £180,000 on holidays.Laver bought his own home for £755,000, which he filled with expensive art, and spent around £673,000 on 16 cars and £29,000 on a home cinema.Laver also bought a plantation called Cinco Ramas for $600,000, as a personal investment and not for investors in EFL.Reading a text from Laver to his wife at the height of his spending spree, Mr Dent said: 'Yeah, that's cool baby, no problem. Dividends are always going to be high. As high as we can. We always come first.'Mr Dent said: 'The consequence of all these dishonest actions is the defendants financially decimated EFL and through doing so significantly increased the risk the whole investment scheme would fail as it eventually did.'Each action was like a domino. One falling into the next until the whole company collapsed.'Had the defendants not withdrawn more than £40million for themselves, there would have been 'more than enough' to care for the trees, the court heard.Former employees, Jerry and Robert Brown, said the directors knew the trees needed funding for their care and maintenance, but were told by Greenaway: 'It will be easy, we are going to keep selling these investments forever.'Robert Brown said he was 'confident', had the money been available, he could have made some returns on the plantation - even if lower than originally advertised.'The actions in EFL's directors in failing to send the funds has rendered the trees of poor quality. I cannot understand why they withdrew so much money when they knew the financial commitment they made to look after their trees,' he said.In 2014, the company started to unravel as mistakes in the cost predictions became 'stark and significant' - indicating $10-15million of capital investment would be needed to buy wood products to meet the projections.When it emerged the company had no money to pay for 'thinning harvests', the Financial Conduct Authority became involved and the company went into voluntary liquidation in 2015.As of September 2015, EFL still had to plant over 275,000 trees on behalf of 475 investors who had already paid £7.5million and been sent packs claiming the trees were already in the ground.The directors began sending money back to EFL from their personal bank accounts, which Mr Dent said 'no doubt' was due to their fears about their fraud being revealed.Mr Dent said the key decisions were made 'jointly' by the defendants, who all signed documents for the tax avoidance scheme and would have been aware of the money taken from the scheme.But he added that employees considered majority shareholder Pickard 'dominant' and 'number one'.Laver was said by witnesses to be 'the least significant figure' of the three directors, but was still a key decision maker and 'extensively' involved.Serious Fraud Office investigators found the scam ran from a Bournemouth call centre, where employees of EFL cold-called members of the public offering pension reviews.They used false company names, including Richmond Solutions and the Pension Report Service, without revealing their true employer.Greenaway and Laver denied two further charges of fraud by false representation, which were ordered to lie on file.Emma Luxton, Director of Operations at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said: 'These former directors preyed on people's good intentions to support "green" investment, stealing £70 million from hard-earned life savings and pensions.'Our complex investigation exposed this fraudulent scheme and the strength of our evidence led to guilty pleas. This is an important step towards justice and compensation for the 3,000 victims.'The sentencing hearing before Judge Alexander Milne continues.