Adam Francis

A man who posed as a mortgage adviser and defrauded four people out of more than £203,000 has been given a suspended prison sentence after admitting multiple fraud offences.

Adam Francis, 48, of Rowan Rise, Banton, appeared at Chester Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 25 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete up to 20 days of rehabilitation activity.

Francis previously pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation. A fifth count was ordered to lie on file.

The offences took place between February 2017 and August 2018, when four victims approached Francis after seeing advertisements promoting his services as the “Mortgage Man”. All were seeking help securing new mortgages.

Working alongside a qualified accountant, who has since died, Francis falsely presented himself as a mortgage or financial adviser. The pair persuaded the victims they were acting on their behalf and requested mortgage deposits, legal fees and other charges to progress their applications.

To reinforce the deception, Francis contacted estate agents, made initial enquiries with legitimate mortgage advisers and instructed solicitors, paying some initial fees to obtain documents and correspondence. These were passed to the victims to create the impression that their mortgage applications and conveyancing were progressing.

In reality, the victims’ money had already been stolen.

The fraud only came to light when the victims contacted solicitors directly to check on the progress of their transactions and discovered that no funds were being held in client accounts and their mortgage applications had not advanced.

The four victims reported losses totalling more than £203,436.

Following an investigation by Cheshire Police, Francis was arrested. He answered “no comment” during police interviews but was subsequently charged and later admitted the offences.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Catrin Phoenix, of the Economic Crime Unit at Cheshire police, said: “Francis was a cunning and deceitful individual who convinced his victims into handing over more than £200,000, believing that he was a legitimate mortgage adviser and money was being used towards their mortgage.

“In reality, Francis had no financial qualifications, and he used the victim’s cash for his own personal gain.

“While we have been unable to recover any of the victim’s cash, I do hope that the fact Francis has now been held accountable for his actions will provide them with some closure.”

During the sentencing, His Honour Judge Everett described how Francis “took the victims for a ride,” and stated his actions were “totally shameful” and “a con from beginning to end” which caused significant distress to the victims.