Bridgend: Fraudster posed as generous millionaire high-flyer

Layne Perry has been found guilty of defrauding three people

Layne Perry was the wealthy and flamboyant former soldier happy to "flash the cash" at hunt balls.

But he has now been found guilty of 23 counts of fraud at Cardiff Crown Court after conning three people of almost £250,000.

The 39-year-old was known as a generous friend, millionaire and horse lover, offering flights in "his" helicopter.

His generosity went beyond the wildest dreams of the three people in their 60s and 70s who thought of him as an adopted son and a best friend.

He promised them a secure old age with him and his fiancee in the grand country house he was about to buy.

There was just one problem.

Perry was in fact a fraudster and a fantasist, a gambling addict and thief who was living in a rented caravan in Trecco Bay in the south Wales seaside town of Porthcawl.

He took nearly £250,000 from his three victims by raiding their bank accounts and setting up multiple loans and credit cards in the their names.

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Now he faces a prison sentence.

Retired hairdresser and former hotel owner Sharan Jones, 71, from Rhondda Cynon Taf, first met Perry at a Christmas party in 2018.

Sharan was reeling from the death of her husband Adrian a year before.

Giving evidence in Cardiff Crown Court she said he "lived the horse life" and "loved champagne".

Sharan's late husband had always looked after the couple's finances.

Now, she was alone. Blinded by grief and drowning in paperwork.

But Perry said he knew about finance.

"He told me not to worry. He would take my letters unopened, I just gave them to him," she said.

And why wouldn't she trust him? He was practically family.

Perry's sister Keira was in a relationship with Sharan's son Theo, so he was not a stranger.

Then Perry persuaded her to move her banking online.

She told the jury: "I didn't know how to use internet banking - Layne said he would set it up.

"He said 'you don't have to do nothing, just look after yourself'."

At that time, Sharan and her son Theo were not in close contact. Perry filled that gap.

He treated her to days out at horse races, first-class rail travel and even a helicopter ride.

And then came the news that Perry planned to buy a country estate in Gloucestershire. He and his fiancee Serena were going to train horses.

Cardiff Crown Court heard allegations that Perry swindled three people, including 71-year-old Sharan Jones

He told Sharan he wanted her to go with them.

"I was going to have a new life," she said.

"In my mind's eye it was like something off the telly. I embraced it. I thought I'd have company for the rest of my life.

"He cared so much for me."

It was not until much later she would discover that it was her who was unwittingly paying for the champagne, horses and helicopter trips.

Perry had taken £98,000 from her accounts - but that was not all.

He also set up multiple credit cards and loans in her name. In all, he took £145,000.

Mrs Jones came close to losing her home. It was only when her son Theo discovered she was days away from selling the house that Perry's deceit began to be discovered.

Charlie and Val Gwilliam from Bridgend county also fell victim to Perry. He defrauded them of more than £130,000.

Perry first met the couple at the livery stables near Porthcawl where they both kept their horses in 2017.

At the time, Charlie, 67, was working as a delivery driver, earning about £250 a week. Val, 72, worked at a local nursing home earning just over £1,000 a month.

Charles Gwilliam said he had thought of Perry as a best friend. He said Perry had described him as "like a second mam and dad, more like a mam and dad".

The couple gave them a key to their flat and the code for their wi-fi. This decent, hardworking and trusting couple had unwittingly opened the door to Perry's fraud and greed.

Their home was close to the stables. He would go to the flat on the pretext of using the toilet. Once there he went to their computer and began taking their money.

He told Charlie he wanted to involve him in investments in gold.

The investment involved taking out a loan of £15,000.

Charlie did not want the loan. He was nervous loans after a finance agreement involving a car had gone wrong many years before.

But Perry took out the loan in Charlie's name. When Charlie told him to give it back, Perry said they would both be in big trouble with the bank if they did.

Like Sharan, Charlie was treated to a helicopter trip by Perry. They took in the coast of the Gower peninsula and celebrated the trip with champagne afterwards.

Unbeknown to Charlie and Val, the bill for £3,000 worth of helicopter flights and lessons was being paid for with credit cards set up in their names.

In court Charlie was asked if he would ever pay for helicopter flights.

He said: "That was not something I was used to. I've only been in an aeroplane twice."

Perry must have been keen to keep the stories he was telling his victims similar, because he also told the Gwilliams he had plans to buy a country house.

Not in Gloucestershire this time, but in Newport.

At £1.8m, Kemeys Folly is one of the most expensive and most recognisable homes in Wales with a gothic tower, a striking glass extension and views across south Wales.

The renovation and extension project even featured on the Channel Four architecture show Grand Designs.

As with Sharan Jones, he told the couple he wanted them to sell up and live with his and his fiancee at the folly. His plan was that Charlie would give up his job and look after Perry's horses.

It was all lies.

The couple began to experience problems getting into their online banking.

Val discovered the post had been redirected without their knowledge.

When the letters did finally arrive they were credit card bills, demands to repay loans and bank statements.

Charlie said: "We were devastated. My wife nearly had a nervous breakdown."

When Val gave evidence the strain of the deceit was clear.

"I didn't want to get up in the morning."

Confronting Perry was not easy - they didn't want to believe that this man - their friend - could have done this to them.

After weeks sending increasingly desperate texts, begging to meet face-to-face, Charlie did at last speak to him by phone.

Charlie says Perry made a chilling threat.

Det Con Neville Evans (left) and Det Con Ian Pring (right) from South Wales Police investigated the case

"I told him I knew what was going on. I told him I was contacting the banks and the police.

"He told me if it went to court his barrister would put her (Val) in hospital or in the ground."

"That was the last time I spoke to him."

Det Con Ian Pring and Det Con Neville Evans, who led the investigation, paid tribute to Sharan, Charlie and Val's bravery in coming forward and giving evidence.

The case, they said, had been the culmination of four years of work by officers across South Wales Police.

They believe other victims may well come forward.

DC Pring said: "In my mind he's a conman, he's a fantasist. He perceives himself to be a wealthy businessman, claims to be a millionaire, a helicopter pilot and of course it's all just a lie.

"His whole life is built on lies."