A Norfolk estate agent has admitted defrauding landlords and tenants out of almost £50,000 over a seven-year period.
Victoria Steele, 51, pleaded guilty at Norwich Crown Court to 19 counts of fraud by false representation relating to her operation of the Swaffham-based estate and lettings agency eHomes.
The charges followed complaints from landlords who said they had not received rent owed to them and tenants who alleged their deposits had not been protected in a tenancy deposit scheme as required by law.
Police launched an investigation in 2018 after around 40 individuals and organisations reported losses to Norfolk Police and Action Fraud. Those affected included private landlords, a landlord recovering from cancer and a Methodist church.
The offences were committed between November 2011 and June 2018, when Steele was the director and sole shareholder of eHomes, formerly known as Prestige Properties Limited.
The court heard that victims lost varying sums, with some defrauded of more than £4,100. The total amount involved was £47,685.
Steele, of Holme Hale, near Necton, admitted dishonestly obtaining funds for personal gain. She is due to be sentenced on 1 September.
eHomes ceased trading in 2018 and the company was wound up the following year.
