Fake debt collectors stole £410,000 from Northallerton businessman

Liam Dinsdale was jailed for five and a half years at Bradford Crown Court on Monday

The final member of a fake debt collecting agency who stole £410,000 from a North Yorkshire business owner has been jailed.

Liam Dinsdale, 38, of Varley Street, Colne, pressured the Northallerton businessman, aged in his 70s, into paying regular instalments of money.

At Bradford Crown Court on Monday, he was jailed for five and a half years for conspiracy to defraud.

The rest of the group were previously jailed for money laundering offences.

Dinsdale pretended to be from a debt collecting agency acting on behalf of the county court, North Yorkshire Police said, alongside Wayne McCreery.

They told the victim he would have to go to court if he did not keep up with payments, which they told him were for outstanding business advertising costs.

The payments started in 2015 and continued until 2018, when police were alerted.

'Cruel and calculated'

The pair were arrested along with seven others - who were later charged and sentenced for money laundering offences.

McCreery, 50, of St Andrews Road, Trafford, was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud on 12 January.

Other people were also targeted in the scam, police said, with the group stealing more than £472,000 in total.

Det Con Neil Brodhurst, from North Yorkshire Police, said the pair were "cruel and calculated individuals".

"They prey on vulnerable people for their own greed for money at any costs," he said.

"If you are contacted by someone who says they are working for the court, please use a different phone to contact the court direct before taking any action and seek advice from independent solicitors if there is a debt outstanding."