Ex-council leader compared himself to 'Tinder Swindler'

Polson is accused of embezzling money from a radio station

A former council leader allegedly told an ex-partner he is accused of defrauding of £188,000 that he was better than the 'Tinder Swindler'.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard from Ann Kelly, 72, who said she was in a relationship with Mr Polson before he defrauded her out of thousands of pounds.

Mr Polson, of Bearsden, is further accused of embezzling £90,143 from a radio station.

The councillor, who denies the charges, was suspended by the Scottish Conservative party after the accusations and now sits as an independent for Bearsden South.

Ann Kelly told the court she met Mr Polson, who was an organist at a church in Glasgow's Burnside, in the early 2000s.

The pair initially ran a choir from his Christian charity station Revival Radio, which was based in Cumbernauld between 2010 and 2019.

Retired teacher Miss Kelly said they became intimate in 2013, while she was still married. They took a break from the relationship in 2018 when Mr Polson got married but it resumed in May 2021.

The witness told the court that they started a business partnership called AA Lettings together in 2021.

Miss Kelly stated that she "trusted" Mr Polson to set up the company and did not sign any documents.

The witness claimed that she used money from her divorce settlement to buy a property in Bearsden in January 2022 which would be renovated to be either rented or sold.

Miss Kelly transferred £146,000 to Mr Polson's bank account for the property before they went to a lawyer's office.

The witness said: "He suggested that I stay in the car which now seems ludicrous.

"He ran in to seal the deal. Unknown to me, he put the property in his name."

When asked why she transferred the cash to Mr Polson, Miss Kelly replied: "He said it was the easiest way to do it and he would look after me."

Defence lawyer Gary McAteer put it to Miss Kelly that she was aware of property purchasing procedure as she has been involved in seven transactions during and after her marriage.

Miss Kelly replied: "Yes," but added "not under these circumstances."

She claimed Mr Polson, who lived in Glasgow's Mount Vernon, wanted to stay in the Bearsden property as he needed a home there for the upcoming council elections.

She claimed that Mr Polson told her "don't be ridiculous" at her suggestion he should pay her rent to live there.

Tinder Swindler

Miss Kelly said she also paid £45,000, in a belief she was buying out Polson's former partner from a property they co-owned in Bellshill, Lanarkshire.

She added that Polson took a £25,000 loan out in her name to cover refurbishments and she also paid repeated sums into the AA Lettings account to cover repairs on the two properties.

She believed she would get money back through the business account when the Bellshill property was leased out.

However, the witness stated that she did not receive any money, and later found out that Mr Polson contributed no more than one payment to the business account.

Miss Kelly said she got access to a bank statement for the first time and then believed she was "funding Andrew's lifestyle," which she said included weekends away and his mother-in-law's 70th birthday party.

Miss Kelly said she watched an episode of the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, which tells the story of a conman who used the dating app to meet and defraud women.

"I felt uneasy and started recognising characteristics that had been happening to me," she said.

"He asked if it reminded me of him as he thought that he was better than the Tinder Swindler."

Jurors heard that Miss Kelly gained control of the Bearsden property in 2023 after she went to the Court of Session. However, she did not receive the Bellshill address.

She claimed that the total financial loss to her was £496,000.

When asked about the emotional impact upon her, Miss Kelly replied: "It's not so much the financial impact which has been huge and changed my life but the betrayal I have felt and the stuff that was going on behind my back that I was completely unaware of.

"I completely trusted Andrew and it has impacted on my family. It is unforgivable what he has done to my children."

The trial continues before Sheriff Paul Reid.