Ex-Tory council leader guilty of £188,000 romance fraud

Andrew Polson currently sits as an independent for Bearsden South
- Published
A former council leader has been found guilty of carrying out a romance fraud worth £188,000.
Andrew Polson, 53, persuaded Ann Kelly, 72, who he was in a relationship with, to give him money so they could own homes together. The properties would then be refurbished and sold or rented out for profit.
But Polson, who at the time was a Conservative politician on East Dunbartonshire Council, put his sole name on the title deeds of two properties without telling her.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court he was found guilty of defrauding Miss Kelly and of embezzling a further £9,018 from Revival FM - the Christian charity radio station where he was a director.
The councillor, who denied the charges, was suspended by the Scottish Conservative party after the accusations and now sits as an independent for Bearsden South.
Sheriff Paul Reid told Polson: "You defrauded someone you were in a relationship with for a considerable amount of money.
"The custodial threshold has been passed and my advice to you is to organise your affairs."
Polson used money Miss Kelly transferred into the company accounts for property repairs to fund his lifestyle which included trips and his mother-in-law's birthday party.
The councillor used the Revival FM bank card to pay for an outing to a casino and refurbishments for one of the properties.
Miss Kelly told the court there had been an "immense" impact on her life as a result of the fraud.
She said: "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."
Money funded Polson's social life
The court heard Polson had known Miss Kelly for 24 years, having met at church when he was an organ player.
They began a relationship in 2013 which ended in 2018 as Polson got married, but resumed in May 2021.
Polson had formed a company called AA Lettings with the idea of flipping properties.
Miss Kelly told jurors she had trusted Polson and did not sign any paperwork to start the business.
The mother-of-three used part of her divorce settlement to pay Polson £40,500 - which she believed was to buy out his former partner's share of a property in Bellshill, Lanarkshire.
She later gave Polson £146,000 to purchase a home in Bearsden, which she thought would be solely in her name - however he put the property in his own name.
When asked why she transferred the cash to Polson despite being told it was going to be her property, Miss Kelly said she had been told it was easiest way to do it and that he would look after her.
Miss Kelly was also putting in about £200 a month into the AA Lettings account to cover repairs on the two properties.
The victim said she thought that Polson was topping up the bank account as well.
But when she got access to an AA Lettings bank statement, she found the money was funding Polson's social life, weekends away and a 70th birthday party for his mother-in-law.
The Tinder Swindler
Miss Kelly visited her bank in March 2022 and had a conversation with a member of staff.
She told how she had watched part of a documentary on the Tinder Swindler - which tells the story of a conman who used the dating app to meet and defraud women.
The victim recalled: "Andrew phoned me later that night and asked if I watched it and I said I didn't finish watching it.
"He asked why and I said that it was not my kind of thing.
"He asked if it reminded me of him as he thought that he was better than the Tinder Swindler."
The matter was then reported to the police.
Jurors also heard Polson used the bank card from the now defunct Revival FM to pay for blinds, tiles and a kitchen for the Bearsden property, as well as £2,500 to a Glasgow casino.
The accused claimed in his evidence that his card and the Revival card were similar and that he used the wrong one.
Polson was suspended by the Conservative Party shortly afterwards when the fraud allegations emerged.
He had co-led the council with the Liberal Democrats' Vaughn Moody from 2018 until 2022.
His wife Aileen Polson - who was a Lib-Dem councillor - was also suspended from her party amid an investigation.
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