Rogue landlord faces four-year prison sentence for fraud

Landlord Mark Thorogood from Llandudno, was found guilty at Caernarfon Crown Court of defrauding Emma Edgley out of £28,000. The court heard how Mr Thorogood was previously friends with Ms Edgley, and had borrowed the money, with a promise to pay it back within a couple of month, via a verbal agreement. A year previously, it is believed that Ms Edgley had agreed to lend Mr Thorogood £15,000, to be repaid at a figure of £250 a month – which was kept to.

Despite being able to ill-afford to lend the additional cash, Ms Edgley leant her friend the substantial sum, which he then spent on paying off his outstanding mortgages and settling other various payments. It was heard how he even received a payment of £58,000 into his bank account, providing a perfect opportunity to pay back the money, however he chose not to.

However, whilst Mr Thorogood was left feeling flush, Ms Edgley was facing leaner times, and when there was no money repaid, she was forced to sell her property in order to financially survive. She said in her statement that ‘a friendly loan had turned into a nightmare, with the court hearing how she was left feeling depressed by the episode, and though she could no longer trust anyone.

Mr Thorogood, who runs Property Park Mortgages, was deemed to have failed to act with ‘honesty and integrity’ and in addition to his prison sentence, his company was fined £104,000 by the Financial Services Authority and issued with a prohibition order after being found to be submitting fraudulent mortgage applications.