Fraudster ‘ruthlessly targeted’ his victims
A “RUTHLESS” fraudster swindled vulnerable people out of thousands of pounds and spent it on a life of luxury.
Horse lover and gambler Layne Perry, 39, raked in more than £300,000 from his victims, leaving one with nothing but the clothes on her back and another suicidal.
Despite denying his crimes, jurors found him guilty and on December 22 he was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court.
Before locking him up for seven years, Judge Paul Hobson told him: “These are decent people whose lives you have shattered so you could live the high life.”
Perry’s victims included Sharan Jones, who he met at a Christmas party in 2018 shortly after the death of her husband.
Knowing she was “vulnerable”, Perry used his charm to get close to her, leading her to trust him like a family member and allowing him to take care of her finances.
He also defrauded Charlie and Val Gwilliam, who he met in 2017 at the stables where they each kept their horses in Bridgend. Again, Perry made it his business to get close to the couple so he could defraud them.
His 22 offences included defrauding his victims through bank transfers, taking loans out in their names and expending credit cards – which he applied for in their names.
Prosecutor Emma Harris told the judge to consider how Perry’s actions happened over a sustained period of time and that he targeted his victims based on their “specific vulnerabilities”.
In the moral sense, she said his actions were an abuse of trust, adding: “He had built up trust with [his victims] and abused those friendships.”
In the victim impact statement of Sharan Jones, she described how she met Perry shortly after her husband died in 2017 – at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable.
She described how she met Perry through a family friend and that it didn’t take long for him to feel like family to her, as though he was a son.
“When he offered to look after my finances I trusted him completely,” she said.
Shortly after Christmas 2019, Mrs Jones realised she was a victim of fraud. It saw her family home put up for sale, while she owned little else “but the clothes on [her] back”.
She said: “My son assisted me in buying me some clothes as I was desperate. I had to rely on my son until my private pension kicked in.”
With her credit rating “destroyed” Mrs Jones said the stress had been “immense”, adding: “This has totally changed me as a person... Previously I was a very outgoing person.”
She described how she now regularly experiences sleepless nights.
Although Mrs Jones said she was not suicidal, she said she feels as though her “existence is pointless”.
She added: “I spend long periods thinking what my husband would think of all this.”
The court also heard a victim impact statement from Charles Gwilliam. The court heard how he was less financially savvy than his wife and particularly targeted by Perry.
His statement revealed he had been struggling with heart failure. Although he said Perry’s actions did not directly cause his illness, he said the sleepless nights and decline in his lifestyle since it happened contributed to his poor health.
A “proud man”, he said he now avoids social situations and feels conscious of what others think of him.
He said: “I feel like I always have to explain myself to people and people might doubt this most extravagant story.
“Fraud is not just about big banks, but against normal hard working people like myself.”
During Val Gwilliam’s victim impact statement, also read out by Ms Harris, she described how the fraud had put her in a very mentally dark place and left her feeling “suicidal”.
She said she had a constant worry in the back of her mind about the prospect of losing her home.
She said: “This crime has put my sense of control out of the window . . . The big financial establishments don’t listen to the bigger picture and just want their money. . .I considered committing suicide.”
Justin Hugheston-Roberts, defending Perry, said he “can’t get around the period, vulnerabilities and planning” of Perry’s offending. However, he said his defendant has a clean character with no previous convictions and noted that he previously worked in the military.
Addressing Perry, Judge Hobson said he “ruthlessly targeted his victims”.
He said: “When you departed Wales in 2019 you left behind a trail of devastation. You had within a year destroyed the finances of Sharon Jones and the Gwilliams.
“The cost of what you did was not just financial, they [thought] of you as a close friend, like family, like a son. That feeling had been genuine on their part, but it was a sham on your part.”
Judge Hobson sentenced Perry, of Stanhope Gardens, London, to seven years’ imprisonment with a proceeds of crime hearing to take place within the next two years.
If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a freehelpline open 24/7 on 116 123.
This crime has put my sense of control out of the window... The big financial establishments don’t listen to the bigger picture and just want their money... I considered committing suicide
Val Gwilliam