Liverpool loan shark jailed over illegal money lending

Hayden charged at least 100% interest on short-term loans

A man with a "Jekyll and Hyde character" who illegally lent money to vulnerable people has been jailed.

Alan Hayden, 52, of Liverpool, charged at least 100% interest on loans he gave out between 2021 and 2022 after his legitimate credit business was ordered to cease trading.

His borrowers told the court "he didn't care how we got it, he wanted paying".

He admitted running an unlawful money lending business and was sentenced to 10 months.

Threats of violence

Liverpool Crown Court heard from Hayden's victims that he had a "habit of sucking you in" and when they started to struggle with repayments they "saw the other side of him".

They described how he threatened to take a taxi driver off the road and how he had a "Jekyll and Hyde character", the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) said.

Hayden, of West Derby, ran a legitimate authorised credit business but in 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority revoked his permission, meaning the company should have stopped trading.

The case was prosecuted by the IMLT, in partnership with Liverpool City Council Trading Standards and Merseyside Police.

Head of the IMLT, Tony Quigley, said it was a "great result for the victims who came forward".

He added: "We would encourage anyone with information about illegal money lending activity to speak to us via the confidential hotline, so we can take action and remove unscrupulous lenders from our communities."