A fraudster who fooled victims by convincing them that they were purchasing dream homes has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Barry Leigh was the founder of a firm known as Dream Coastal and Country Homes.
By showing his estate agents a fraudulent bank statement that indicated he had over £980,000, Leigh attempted to prove to Humberts that he was wealthy enough to buy numerous sites.
He later told Hampshire Trading Standards that he’d done this to reassure Humberts, hoping to make them feel “comfortable” that he had the necessary funds.
Over the time that the company was in operation, Leigh laundered approximately £626,000, as well as leaving victims in unfortunate circumstances. One couple had purchased what they thought was their dream home from Leigh, but were swiftly moved on by the real land owner. Having sold their own home and paying him £140,000, they had no choice but to live in a caravan for a period of 16 months.
Prosecutor Edward Elton told the court that Leigh “would sometimes not be able to buy the site, sometimes not be able to develop the site” and at other times, be unable to do either.
However, he went on to say that this would not deter Leigh from putting the plots up sale, nor did it stop him from taking advantage of interested parties.
After admitting two charges of fraud by false representation, forgery, money laundering and use of a false instrument, Leigh was banned from running a company and sentenced to two years in prison.
