A graduate told how she became a victim of a £3.2million con when she gave her student loan to a gang of Seventh Day Adventists who promised to invest it for huge profits.

Monica Otufowora also sold her car to get hold of more money to invest in the allegedly fraudulent scheme run under the name of JNL Ltd.

Lindani Mangena, 24, from Romford, is said to have masterminded the scam with the help of Dean Hinkson, 29, of Bensham Lane, West Croydon, Curtis Powell, 31, of Hythe Road, Thornton Heath, and Jordan Huie, 25, from Brixton.

The court heard how the group posed as City traders and persuaded more than 1,000 members of a Seventh Day Adventist Church to handover thousands over a seven-month period, promising to invest the money.

Mangena is said to have pocketed money swindled from 1,000 victims and used it to fund a 'wildly extravagant' lifestyle of fast cars and luxury holidays.

Miss Otufowora said she had first heard of the scheme through a friend at her regular Friday night bible studies group, who agreed to invest £200 on her behalf.

She was initially thrilled to get a return of £1,600, and reinvested half of that, before going on to sell her car for £600 to invest more money.

But after the initial return she did not see any of her money again, Southwark Crown Court heard.

She said that when she had heard there were problems with the scheme, she called a friend who asked her how much she had expected to make back and how much she wanted.

Miss Otufowora told the jury she had been told she would receive £13,000, and said she wanted £4,000.

"I could hear Lindani in the background, saying he could only pay out £2,000 because he had paid out other people," she said.

"I was given a cheque for £2,000, but couldn't pay it in because there was an error on the cheque.

"I can't remember exactly what it was, it might have been a misspelling of my name in some way."

Miss Otufowora, who is from Kennington, said she then tried to contact Mangena on his mobile phone but was unable to do so.

She added: "I had invested a further £800 in September and that would have come out my student loan and that was supposed to last a term or so."

Mangena denies fraudulent trading, carrying on unauthorised investment business, and one count of money laundering between July 31, 2003 and March 1, 2004.

Hinkson, Huie and Powell deny communicating an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity between October 3, 2003 and April 5, 2004.

The trial continues.