Fake Lord is jailed for £400k cruise scam

A fraudster who called himself a lord and made £400,000 by selling fake cruise holidays has been jailed for five years.

Richard Lester, from Luton, used his Cruise Direct UK Ltd business to dupe 184 people into purchasing sham cruise miles, before spending their money on online gambling.

Victims from across the globe only realised they were scammed when cruise operators turned them away from ports.

Sentencing the 56-year-old, Judge Alexander Mills said customers were left watching their dream holidays "drift off into the morning sun".

Lester, of Swifts Green Road, Luton, was found guilty of fraudulent trading and concealing criminal property after a nine-week trial and was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.

It followed a 10-year investigation by Essex Police into the Ponzi-style scam, whose officers were contacted by 324 potential victims.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau had contacted the force after victims came forward.

Cruise trips frequently depart from several ports in Essex, including the Port of Tilbury.

The Essex Police inquiries found Lester used several aliases, going by the names Lord Lester, Henry Lester, Les Richards, Richie Lescovitch and Barry Williams.

Customers would purchase miles to be exchanged for cruises, however, Judge Mills said they were conned by "deliberately convoluted" terms and conditions.

Judge Mills said over five years from 2009, their money was being frittered away by Lester, who was a professional gambler "living the high life in Las Vegas".

One customer flew to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, but was left "confused and frustrated" when they were turned away at the port, he added.

Lester stole £406,856.39 from 184 people.

Kim Berthen, a victim from Australia, booked a cruise for both herself and her husband to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

In a statement read to the court, she said: "I stupidly invested in this company thinking of wonderful holidays together.

"It makes me so angry and depressed to know I made a stupid decision."

Another victim booked a holiday to celebrate her husband recovering from a serious illness.

Lester's company was struck off by Companies House in August 2014, leaving customers with up to millions of cruise miles they purchased but could not use.

Andrew Evans, prosecuting, said Lester hid behind a "cloak of legitimacy" to mislead customers with documents purporting to show a booked cruise.

Agents employed by Lester were also left to suffer the effects of his scam, fielding irate inquiries from stranded customers.

Elizabeth Erskine, an agent based in New South Wales, Australia, said it was a "harrowing" experience.

"I had to experience the fear and distress of my life crashing around me," she told the court.

Police discovered victims in the UK and across the world including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany and Japan.

Tania Panagiotopoulou, mitigating, said there were "thousands of satisfied customers" for years before Lester turned to criminality.

But passing sentence, Judge Mills said Lester "gaslit" his victims by claiming it was their fault holidays were cancelled.

He added: "This was a well planned and complex fraud carried out over a lengthy period of time, and it was done knowingly and willingly on your part."

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