A pair of shady businessmen have been jailed after their multi-million-pound property fraud was exposed.
Robert Ware, 43, and Graham Wortley, 58, carried out a "sophisticated" mortgage scam over a period of three and a half years, acquiring short-term bridging loans against properties they had purchased between 2014 and 2017. They then sent forged documents to the HM Land Registry in order to get rid of the protection offered to lenders, which allowed them to refinance or sell the properties to other individuals, including wealthy investors from Saudi Arabia.
This resulted in massive losses totalling £4.8m, with one affected company, Seneca Bridging, losing approximately £3m to the scam. Another business, EAD Solicitors, was forced to close after being unwittingly caught up in the businessmen's dodgy dealings.
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Ware, of Old Mill Lane in Wavertree, and Wortley, of Dunbeath Avenue in Rainhill, were both found guilty of conspiracy to defraud following a three month trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where they appeared today, October 20, for sentence.
The court heard that, during the trial, Ware had presented forged documents in an effort to cast doubt on a witness and bolster his own defence. But his attempts were rumbled and the property manager was convicted along with his broker, Wortley.
Prosecutor Nick Johnson said: "Both played a leading role where the offending was part of a group activity. As far as Robert Ware is concerned, he instigated and controlled this conspiracy. Graham Wortley was a trusted right hand man and business partner throughout, and was involved in every step of putting the conspiracy into effect."
Rajinder Gil, representing Ware, said: "Ware has no relevant previous convictions and is a man of previous good character. There’s some evidence of genuine remorse. It’s also submitted on his behalf that he has demonstrated some insight into his dishonest behaviour and accepted that ego and greed played its part. He’s very sorry for the wider impact this fraud has had on businesses and employees.”
He added that Ware was known to provide “kind, emotional, practical support” to family and friends.
Caroline Goodwin, representing Wortley, said her client had been “lured” into the fraud operation as a way of dealing with spiralling debt.
She said: “Here is a man now approaching his 60th birthday who hitherto has been an honest man and has worked hard. He has four children and a grandchild. He has supported them through thick and thin his whole life. This is a significant fall from grace. It’s a humiliating end for him to find himself sitting in the dock.”
Ware and Wortley's dishonest actions were exposed following a six-year investigation dubbed Operation Benadir by Merseyside Police.
Judge David Potter said: "Between 2014 and 2017, you Robert Ware assisted by your right hand man Graham Wortley engaged in a sophisticated mortgage fraud to defraud corporate lenders. I accept this venture was not motivated out of pure personal greed. The Ware Group had become hopelessly overstretched which drained the group of liquidity. But you, Robert Ware, were driven by ego, ambition and recklessness to acquire more property, and to use your existing portfolio as a cash machine to acquire more costly loans to acquire more (properties)."
He sentenced Ware to eight years in prison, and Wortley to six years. Both were disqualified from acting as a director for any company for 10 years.
Clive Myerscough, fraud investigator with Merseyside Police, said: “It’s very satisfying to see that justice has been secured for all those affected. The actions of Wortley and Ware placed a number of innocent businesses under significant financial pressure and sadly an established firm of solicitors went into administration. This had a devastating impact not only on their partners but also their staff, some of whom lost their jobs.
“This would have undoubtedly caused distress and worry for everyone involved, and of course for their loved ones. This impact was clearly lost on Wortley and Ware and they will now be left to consider the full consequences behind bars.
"The HM Land Registry has also suffered financial losses and these losses of course come at a cost to the public purse."
Detective Inspector Holly Chance, who was the senior investigating officer, added "Fraud can and does devastate individuals and businesses, and thankfully these two men have now been prevented from causing any more harm, and will hopefully have learnt a tough lesson about how seriously police and the courts take such matters.”
You can report fraud to Merseyside Police by calling 101 or DM @MerPolCC on Twitter, or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud you can contact them on 0300 123 2040 or go to www.actionfraud.police.uk
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