'Conniving conman caused the demise of my company'

Mital Mehta is estimated to have conned about £560,000 out of his 24 victims since 2021

A man who says he had to put his business into administration after a scammer siphoned money from it has warned others to be wary of things that seem "too good to be true".

Jeetandra Patel, known as Jeet, has spoken out after "conniving" conman Mital Mehta - who is estimated to have defrauded £560,000 out of 24 victims - was jailed for more than five years in May.

Jeet, 56, previously spoke about his experiences anonymously, but has agreed to be identified to raise awareness about fraud.

In addition to causing the loss of his business, Jeet said he had to sell cars in order to pay staff, adding the ordeal put him in "financial difficulties more so than I'd ever anticipated in my life".

Jeet, from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, said he first met Mehta at a pub while watching a football match in 2016. They discussed betting and later met up at Jeet's office.

"We used to have a window company [called EAS Windows Oadby] and he just basically kept on manipulating and coming in and asking to invest in some sort of profit-making scheme," he said.

"He didn't come across as pushy at all. He was very, very good at what he did."

The profit-making scheme involved the buying and selling of tickets to Premier League football matches.

Jeet said Mehta offered "great rewards", such as hospitality tickets to watch West Ham play Liverpool.

Jeet said he initially paid the defendant £1,500 - and received £2,000 in return as agreed.

Once Mehta had gained his trust by taking him to various events, he began asking Jeet for larger sums of money to invest.

"From there on it was just like, 'you can have more of this lifestyle' and I thought, 'what a great lifestyle', but then he just started investing," Jeet said.

"Then with my business, he started to siphon funds - not just from myself, from my business as well and unfortunately that led to the demise of my company.

"I lost my personal belongings in order to pay the staff who used to work for me."

Another of Mehta's victims, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was duped out of more than £19,000 when the scammer promised him large returns for investment in his protein bar business.

In a personal statement read in court when Mehta was sentenced, the victim said: "Mehta preyed on my vulnerability, promising me a chance to still feel like I could provide for my family, feel worthy and have a purpose in life.

"He is conniving and has no thoughts for the impact his actions have on individuals and their lives."

'Moment of madness'

Jeet added he lost "well over £100,000" and ended up selling his cars to pay staff, before eventually putting his business into administration by October 2017, about a year after meeting Mehta.

He said Mehta produced documentation from governing bodies and various UK banks, as well as evidence of tickets he had bought and faked correspondence.

Jeet said in that "moment of madness", he saw the documentation from what looked like trusted sites, and did not do his due diligence as he was busy with his business at the time.

He said he reported his concerns to Action Fraud in 2017, sending bank statements, correspondence and other materials.

"However, they turned around and said to me, 'at this present moment in time it's just going to be hearsay because we can't do anything, because it's my word against the person's evidence'," Jeet said.

It was not until other victims came forward more than a year later, that the police became involved, leading to Mehta being convicted, he added.

Mehta, of Jamie Marcus Way, Oadby, Leicestershire, received a five-year and three-month prison term at Leicester Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to 21 counts of fraud.

Action Fraud says it does not have investigative powers, as it is a national reporting service.

A spokesperson said: "Cases will be disseminated based on the available lines of inquiry to investigate.

"In some instances, a single report might not have met that threshold, but a further report might provide further evidence to potentially action."

Ch Supt Amanda Wolf, head of Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, added: "Action Fraud can confirm that it received NFRC191203396937 on 11 April 2020 and it was sent to Leicestershire Police for consideration for investigation."

Jeet said he was now "really wary" after being scammed.

"Like they always say, if it's too good to be true, it definitely is," he said.

"Make sure you do your background searches as much as you possibly can.

"Once I fell so deep into it, it was very hard to get back out of it, because it was like chasing bad for good really."

Additional reporting by Rob Watson