A 55-year-old Coventry businessman who stole tenants’ rent payments has been jailed for 12 months.

Stephen Greenwood, of Brindley Paddocks, near Coventry Canal Basin, ran his own property lettings company in Rugby. After running into personal debt, Greenwood pocketed the rent payments for several of the properties he was managing without passing it back to the homeowners.

It was not until the business went into liquidation in 2009 that the fraud came to light.

Prosecutor Michael Hanning said: “It was only after the company ceased trading that the offences came to light. Landlords of property managed by Greenwood realised they had not been paid rental payments they were due. It’s one of those cases of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

In court, Greenwood pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud worth over £19,000 and also asked the courts to take into account a further 59 counts of fraud totalling a further £50,000.

As well as being given a 12 month sentence, Greenwood was banned from working as a company director for four years at a hearing at Leamington Crown Court over the weekend.

Greenwood was supposed to collect the rent payments minus a commission but had in fact kept hold of the cash and created fake statements for clients to confirm

that they had been paid.
The court heard that Greenwood’s money woes had arisen after a Spanish property investment project had failed to pay out. Michael Brook, in mitigation, said that Greenwood had hoped to pay back his clients when the Spanish investment paid out.

Judge Charles Harris QC gave Greenwood credit for his honesty and for the fact that he pleaded guilty but added that a custodial sentence was still necessary.

Amidst a recent surge in interest in the buy-to-let market, this case should serve as a further warning of the potential legal minefields involved.