Fraudster who scammed renters has jail term cut

A fraudster who admitted stealing more than £77,000 from would-be tenants in London has had his prison sentence reduced at the Court of Appeal.

Freddie Priestley, 34, of Leathermarket Court in Southwark, south London, was sentenced to 35 months in prison in June after he falsely advertised a flat for rent on Facebook and kept deposit and rent payments from more than 30 people.

In a judgment published on Thursday, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal reduced the jail term to two years, but ruled it should not be suspended.

Priestley pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was sentenced after a BBC investigation into his activities involving a three-bedroom flat in Bermondsey.

Lady Justice Andrews, sitting with Mrs Justice McGowan and Mr Justice Hilliard, said the sentencing judge made "insufficient allowance" for mitigating features in the case.

She said that Priestley "was in the grip of a gambling addiction", adding: "Whilst it does not excuse his offending behaviour, (it) provides an explanation for it."

Lady Justice Andrews said Priestley advertised the flat online, sent prospective tenants a tenancy agreement to sign and asked for deposits. He asked for the first month's rent from some of the victims.

The judge said that Priestley admitted his fraudulent activity to some of his victims before his arrest, and told them that he had experienced a "major relapse" in his gambling addiction and was "ashamed" of his actions.

Lady Justice Andrews said that some of Priestley's victims were overseas students who struggled to find alternative accommodation at short notice, and others were refused compensation by their banks.

One victim with cancer used his savings in the hope of renting the flat and was left to sofa-surf at friends.

At the appeal hearing in August, Ali Bajwa KC, for Priestley, said the sentencing judge failed to take his gambling addiction into account as a cause of the offending.

Bajwa said that prison had had a "considerable sobering effect and a deterrent effect" on Priestley and asked for the sentence to be suspended.

Lady Justice Andrews said Priestley had shown he "did not care" about his victims, "but only about himself" and said that custody was appropriate.

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