A convicted fraudster hid his income to pay for a luxurious mansion, using a Swiss bank account in an attempt to avoid paying a £129,000 compensation order.
Paul Anthony Garland, 45, was given the order after he was convicted of fraud in 2005. He was declared bankrupt for the second time in 2010 and is suspected of a string of fraudulent activities involving a number of failed business enterprises – as well as posing as a successful business entrepreneur and highly successful football financier.
Since January 2010, Garland spent more than £50,000 renting a luxurious mansion and driving two Bentley convertible cars. Garland was able to finance his extravagant lifestyle through the use of fraudulent documentation, posing as a company director, and duping victims with documentation that suggested he was involved in high value oil transactions.
He was reported to have lived out this ‘millionaire’s lifestyle’ while the £129,000 compensation order went unpaid.
The Cheshire economic crime unit, helped by North Yorkshire Police and Northallerton court enforcement, managed to bring Garland to justice.
Det Con Steve Warner from Cheshire Police’s economic crime unit, who led Cheshire’s part in the investigation into Garland, told the Knutsford Guardian: “Although Paul Garland is now serving a prison sentence for failing to pay the compensation order, Cheshire Police will continue to examine the circumstances surrounding how Garland sustained his wealthy lifestyle.”
Garland was sentenced to 26 months in prison.
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