Donald Scott
A PROMINENT Cumbrian estate agent responsible for a £450,000 fraud has been warned he may be jailed.
At Carlisle Crown Court, a judge issued the warning to 62-year-old Donald George Scott, who was also a trusted land agent in Wigton, after he entered guilty pleas to 13 charges of fraud.
By forging the signatures of his victims, Scott was able to sell so-called “entitlements” to their farmland – legal covenants which entitle the owner to European Union subsidy payments. He also took large sums of money from other customers who wrongly believed they were buying subsidy rights.
Prosecutor Lucy Wright said: “It is the crown’s case that Mr Scott, while working as a land agent and estate agent, committed fraud against those who entrusted him to look after their entitlements.
“He did this either by selling them without their knowledge, or by failing to invest money given to him to buy those entitlements.
That was the mechanism of the fraud, committed by signing forms and purporting to be the landowner.”
She said the offences represented a total value of around £450,000.
In the dock, Scott, of Low House Farm Cottage, Wigton, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas, speaking in a quiet voice throughout.
Judge Davies told Scott, a man of previous good character: “The fact that I am granting you bail can not be taken to mean that there won’t be a custodial sentence. This is an extremely large sum of money. You must expect that it is possible that you will go to custody.”
The allegations admitted by Scott named seven victims. All were elderly farmers or landowners, who were among Scott’s loyal customers.
They include one man, who has since died, who was was fleeced of at least £81,000. Another victim, named as Caroline Armstrong, handed over to Scott more than £50,000 in the belief that he would invest the money in land entitlements, but she never got them. One victim lost more than £200,000.
The offences were all committed on dates between 2010 and 2015.
Other victims named in the charges include Dorothy Batty, Robert Swales, John Benson, William Fraser, and Michael Hilton.
It is thought Scott’s victims are unlikely to ever be fully compensated for the losses that they suffered.
Scott, who ran his business from premises in King Street, Wigton, was declared bankrupt in March last year.
The firm provided property services in and around Wigton for several years and its “for sale” signs were a familiar site in the area.
Scott began his career in Dumfries and Galloway, working as a junior auctioneer. He formed his own company in 2004, selling properties in the Wigton, Silloth and Aspatria area. He will be sentenced on April 22 after background reports have been prepared on him by the Probation Service. Judge Davies complimented the defence and prosecution teams for resolving the case, which had been due to go to trial.
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Donald Scott A PROMINENT Cumbrian estate agent responsible for a £450,000 fraud has been warned he may be jailed.
At Carlisle Crown Court, a judge issued the warning to 62-year-old Donald George Scott, who was also a trusted land agent in Wigton, after he entered guilty pleas to 13 charges of fraud.
By forging the signatures of his victims, Scott was able to sell so-called “entitlements” to their farmland – legal covenants which entitle the owner to European Union subsidy payments. He also took large sums of money from other customers who wrongly believed they were buying subsidy rights.
Prosecutor Lucy Wright said: “It is the crown’s case that Mr Scott, while working as a land agent and estate agent, committed fraud against those who entrusted him to look after their entitlements.
“He did this either by selling them without their knowledge, or by failing to invest money given to him to buy those entitlements.
That was the mechanism of the fraud, committed by signing forms and purporting to be the landowner.”
She said the offences represented a total value of around £450,000.
In the dock, Scott, of Low House Farm Cottage, Wigton, spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas, speaking in a quiet voice throughout.
Judge Davies told Scott, a man of previous good character: “The fact that I am granting you bail can not be taken to mean that there won’t be a custodial sentence. This is an extremely large sum of money. You must expect that it is possible that you will go to custody.”
The allegations admitted by Scott named seven victims. All were elderly farmers or landowners, who were among Scott’s loyal customers.
They include one man, who has since died, who was was fleeced of at least £81,000. Another victim, named as Caroline Armstrong, handed over to Scott more than £50,000 in the belief that he would invest the money in land entitlements, but she never got them. One victim lost more than £200,000.
The offences were all committed on dates between 2010 and 2015.
Other victims named in the charges include Dorothy Batty, Robert Swales, John Benson, William Fraser, and Michael Hilton.
It is thought Scott’s victims are unlikely to ever be fully compensated for the losses that they suffered.
Scott, who ran his business from premises in King Street, Wigton, was declared bankrupt in March last year.
The firm provided property services in and around Wigton for several years and its “for sale” signs were a familiar site in the area.
Scott began his career in Dumfries and Galloway, working as a junior auctioneer. He formed his own company in 2004, selling properties in the Wigton, Silloth and Aspatria area. He will be sentenced on April 22 after background reports have been prepared on him by the Probation Service. Judge Davies complimented the defence and prosecution teams for resolving the case, which had been due to go to trial.
Further Reading
FT first 'Rightmove maintains grip in battle of property portals @onthemarketblog
Foxtons high street estate agent facing landmark claim for £2million from group of 55 landlords
Kettering high street letting agent jailed for ripping off tenants and landlords
Estate agent Sterling Estates fined for illegal display board on Common Lane, Kings
Langley by Dacorum City Council
Chinese firm to invest in UK housing projects
Building a new deal for London: Final report of the London Housing Commission
China is investing Big in UK property / Real Estate North & South > all you need to know
'Kleptocracy tours' 35,000 London properties currently have unknown offshore owners.
Draw up plans to build more homes in two years... or we'll do it for you: PM's threat to reluctant town halls
Overseas investors now own a quarter of invested UK commercial property
UK's largest property developers accused of 'profiting' on the back of the housing crisis
Private rental prices grew by 2.7% in England
Rental prices increased in all the English regions over the year to January 2016, with rental prices increasing the most in London (3.9%).
Property pain Investigation ,service charges increasing rapidly with 30 % of firms increasing fees
Foxtons report 4% revenue increase to City, despite Prime Central London property experiencing a dead-cat bounce
Property Partner successfully completes £15.9M ($22.4M) funding round
Nested - Start Up , property online disruptor to quick sale homes ?
Building a new deal for London: Final report of the London Housing Commission
high street estate agency valuations – flattery will get you nowhere by @emoovceo
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Live inquiry application launch 14 th March say Land Registry Marketing Manager
LA police testing knife found on OJ Simpson property - reports
'Kleptocracy tours' 35,000 London properties currently have unknown offshore owners
UK's largest property developers accused of 'profiting' on the back of the housing crisis
Pop Up Housing a solution not just for London but the UK
estate regeneration statement GOV UK DCLG ,Lord Heseltine ,Brandon Lewis MP
Digital Mortgage service: making improvements again & again
Buy-to-let investors 'could face losses'
Uber's property footprint unmatched among San Fran Bay Area ,Tech StartUps
Guests staying with AirBnB for the super bowl top 15,000
Nobroker.com Homes, one step closer to making estate agent obsolete , new round of funding
OnTheMarket overseas properties , Britons with holiday homes in France face paying extra 10% in tax if they sell the property following a Brexit
Guests staying with AirBnB for the super bowl top 15,000
FT first 'Rightmove maintains grip in battle of property portals @onthemarketblog
Morrisons Super Markets signs deal to sell food to Amazon online customers
Amazon eyes up UK restaurant delivery market
Booking.com Launches of Passion Search ,Don’t battle your passions, unleash them
David Cameron calls EU referendum for June 23 2016 Official Statement @onthemarketblog
zoopla.co.uk selects Birst's Cloud BI platform for data integration from all its brands and apps
Good News UK mortgage approvals hit two-year high BoE
IMF Statement: LUXEMBOURG: Concluding Statement of the 2016 Article IV Consultation Mission
Spanish house prices 2015 see rise highest rise 2007 crash , stabilisation of housing market, idealista.com
No Brexit for me, why I'm staying in a reformed EU and so should you
Scotlands House prices rise and sales grow ros.gov.uk
An analysis of recent trends in the Irish rental market 2015 in Review
fourth quarter 2015: First-time buyers took out 87,100 loans to purchase homes. + house prices in UK
GeoPhy Exodus-from-EU-may-spark-correction-in-the-rental-market.html
1st of March David Cameron St David's Day message "wonderful country and a great part of the United Kingdom"
Amazon eyes up UK restaurant delivery market
Bank of England's unease over market's rate view Carney & Shafik
Morrisons Super Markets signs deal to sell food to Amazon online customers
Brick-And-Mortar Crumbling? Don't Believe It > Forbes > Leadership
Chinese authorities shut down microblogging accounts belonging to a real estate mogul
Foxtons high street estate agent facing landmark claim for £2million from group of 55 landlords
Brexit ,purplebricks.com investor, impacts on the property market overall and on aggregate consumption in the economy will be limited
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