Copythorne man conned friend in £25,000 car fraud (From Daily Echo)
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Copythorne man conned friend in £25,000 car fraud
2:20pm Monday 4th February 2013 in News
Copythorne man conned friend in £25,000 car fraud
A COPYTHORNE man duped a friend into handing over more than £25,000 after convincing him he should buy ten antique cars, including a Bentley and a Mercedes, from a woman.
But it was a con. The cars did not exist, Southampton Crown Court heard.
Mark Halford, 51, of Pound Lane, admitted fraud for which he received an 18-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months and a 120-hour unpaid work order.
Prosecutor Eleanor Fargin said Halford had already repaid Wayne Holbrook nearly £5,000 and when he appeared for sentence, he returned another £1,200.
In mitigation, Richard Martin said Halford had gone off the rails following the loss of his home and the collapse of his marriage.
