A CALDICOT man has been sentenced to 28 months in prison after being convicted of 52 counts of fraud totalling almost £74,000.

Neil Bradbury, of Eagle Close, Caldicot, pleaded guilty yesterday (3rd November) at Cardiff Crown Court to 49 counts of fraud by abuse of position while in his role as managing director of Chepstow-based Celtic Lettings.

Bradbury, who is 43, stole £31,941 in deposits, and £32,288 in rent, totalling £64,229.  Another two offences, which were taken into consideration on the day of trial, took the total taken from customers to almost £74,000.

Towards the end of 2014, a number of landlords who had involvement with a Chepstow company called Celtic Lettings, approached Trading Standards and Gwent Police to report issues with the company.

The issues being reported were mainly about deposits that had been passed to Neil Bradbury which he had not then placed into the Tenant Bond Scheme. On investigation, it was evident that no deposits for the properties were ever registered - a service which is required by law.

Trading Standards officers initially visited Bradbury in December 2014 in order to explain the nature of the complaint. At that time there were only a handful of complaints which were dismissed as being clerical errors which Bradbury would rectify. By the end of January 2015, the number of complainants had increased dramatically. The complainants all stated that they had made numerous attempts to get in touch with Bradbury but failed and also that his business premises was mostly shut when they visited.

Gwent Police initiated a fraud enquiry relating to Bradbury and his Celtic Lettings business. In May 2015 Police and Trading Standards officers executed a warrant at a number of addresses connected with Bradbury.

A total of 34 addresses were identified as having been subjected to Bradbury’s fraudulent dealings, with a total of 72 landlords and tenants identified as victims.

Bradbury was then charged with 52 counts of Fraud by Abuse of Position. It has been established that he stole £31,941 in deposits, and £32,288 in rent, totalling £64,229.  Another two offences, which were taken into consideration on the day of trial took the total taken from customers to almost £74,000.

After pleading guilty to 49 counts, Bradbury was sentenced to 28 months in prison and must serve at least half before being released on licence.

A Proceeds of Crime Act is also scheduled to assess how the money can be recovered.