Fraudulent agent stole £80k of rents and deposits
A letting agent who pocketed deposits and rent from landlords totalling more than £80,000 has pleaded guilty to fraud.
Francis Smart, proprietor of Smart Residential Letting Agents, in Newmarket pleaded guilty to two counts in respect of retaining rent and deposits under the S1 Fraud Act 2006 at Ipswich Crown Court on August 12.
Officers from Suffolk Trading Standards and the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigations Team, began investigating Smart, aged 46, from Dowding Avenue, Cambridge, in autumn 2018, following complaints from landlords and tenants who were unable to contact the company after its premises at 5B Wellington Street, Newmarket, closed in July 2018.
Suffolk Trading Standards said it believed Smart failed to place deposits in a deposit protection scheme, as required by law, with some landlords telling the court they had to refund deposits to tenants from their own pockets.
The largest single loss was more than £8,000.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Trading Standards said: “Many of these landlords entrusted Smart Residential with their rental properties, and to hold tenancy deposits on their behalf.
“By law, these deposits should have been placed into a Deposit Protection Scheme – offering protection to tenants in the event of a landlord or letting agency facing financial difficulties. We believe that Mr Smart failed to use this scheme, resulting in substantial losses for his victims.
“We spoke to over 30 witnesses, with numerous landlords telling us that they didn’t receive rental income and had to refund tenancy deposits out of their own pocket. This resulted in individual losses ranging from £700 to over £8,000 and an estimated total loss in excess of £80,000."
Smart will be sentenced at a later date.
