'Loan shark' who made £92K jailed

Alvin Hutchinson illegally lent people money over a period of five years, investigators say

A man who made more than £90,000 through illegal money lending has been jailed.

Alvin Hutchinson charged borrowers 40% interest, intimidating them when they struggled to repay, investigators said.

The 53-year-old from Telford admitted illegal money lending and concealing the proceeds of crime.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Friday.

One borrower bought a 65in TV on credit, which Hutchinson then used while his customer struggled to make the repayments, the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) said.

Another was charged 40% interest on loans of between £100 and £200, and if the capital was not paid off in a week, Hutchinson added another 40%.

One borrower said he was punched in the nose after he struggled to repay small loans, investigators added.

The illegal money lending operation ran between January 2015 and May 2019, when Hutchinson's home was searched.

'Dealt in cash'

Deposits of £92,862 had been made into accounts registered to him and other family members, which he used to process payments, said the IMLT.

Some £48,000 had been in cash.

Hutchinson's defence had been that he sold second-hand cars, and often dealt in cash, and people who knew this would sometimes ask for a loan.

He claimed he used family bank accounts to deposit money when it was more convenient than using his own.

Claims of violence were denied, said the IMLT, but he accepted pressure had been put on borrowers to pay.

The 28-month prison sentence imposed on Alvin Hutchinson sent a "message that illegal money lending will not be tolerated in our communities," said head of the England IMLT, Tony Quigley.

Illegal money lending "destroyed" people’s lives, he added.