An 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 Donald George Scott, 62, after he entered guilty pleas to 13 charges of fraud.

All were to do with his role as land agent.

By forging the signatures of his victims, Scott was able to sell so-called “entitlements” to their farmland – entitling the owner to EU 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.”

Judge Davies told Scott, a man of previous good character: “The fact that I am granting you bail cannot 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 charges admitted by Scott named seven victims, all elderly farmers or landowners who had trusted him.

They include one man, who has since died, who was was fleeced of at least £81,000. One victim lost more than £200,000. The court heard they are unlikely to get their money back.

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 said to be a familiar sight in the area.

He will be sentenced on April 22.