Conman who sold couple’s home has to repay £300k
A FRAUDSTER who conned a dementia-stricken couple out of their home and life savings has been ordered to pay back more than £300,000 – including the £10,000 he spent on hair transplants.
Syed Bukhari, 38, posed as “Gerry Patel” from the pair’s local Lloyds bank to persuade them to hand over details he used to sell their £200,000 property.
By the time police unravelled the scam, the home in Fulwood, Lancs, had been sold to a private company for £160,000 – and their £150,000 nest egg had vanished.
As well as the hair transplants, Bukhari, from south Manchester, bought a business-class flight to Dubai, splurged £11,000 on a luxury hotel stay and rented several Lamborghinis. He also bought Rolex watches, jewellery, designer clothes, bags and mobile phones.
Scams
In 2018 he was jailed for almost eight years after admitting fraud.
An investigation under Proceeds of Crime powers found he had made £561,058 from his scams, which included faking his death in a bid to claim £1million in insurance.
Preston Crown Court told him this week he faces three extra years in jail if he doesn’t pay £307,759 within three months.
His unnamed victims, a former merchant sailor, 83, and his wife, 84, who have four children and seven grandchildren, still live at their home but are on a waiting list for a care home. The Land Registry has transferred ownership of the house back to them, and the buyer has been refunded from public money.
The family had to instruct lawyers after the couple were given a week to quit their home. In a statement their son Graham Worsnopp, 57, said: “If someone had made a drama on TV, people still wouldn’t believe it. My dad and stepmum’s health conditions have actually protected them because they don’t know what has happened.
“My dad’s dementia has got worse and my stepmum has Alzheimer’s. They don’t even know about the Covid situation.” He added: “We still don’t believe [Bukhari] will cough up the money. We think he has it hidden waiting for him. I keep
Bad dream... Graham Worsnopp, left, whose vulnerable parents were conned out of their home and savings by Syed Bukhari, pictured right after his hair transplant
thinking it’s a bad dream.” Bukhari began preying on the couple in November 2017 when he told them he had resolved fraudulent transactions on their accounts, and that their house risked repossession, but he could help.
He persuaded the father to take in a letter saying he had authority on the account. Within weeks, 10 bank accounts and credit cards had been opened fraudulently in the couple’s names. One had almost £100,000 deposited into it, later found to be from savings and investments belonging to them.
The fraud unravelled when their son contacted police. Lancashire Police Economic Crime Unit said Bukhari had shown no remorse.