Man Guilty Of £250M Scam To 'sell' London's Ritz Hotel

[Raistlin]

A jobless lorry driver has been convicted of an "ambitious scam" to sell London's Ritz Hotel for £250m.

Anthony Lee, of Goole, east Yorkshire, found victims who were interested in the hotel and conned them with false promises until they handed over £1m.

At Southwark Crown Court, Lee, 49, was found guilty of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.

The jury took 14 hours of deliberations to reach its verdict at the end of a four-week trial.

Retired Patrick Dolan, of Philip Lane, Tottenham, north London, was cleared of the conspiracy charge.

'One big lie'

On Thursday, solicitor Conn Farrell, 57, from Aldershot, Hampshire, was also cleared of trying to fraudulently sell the hotel.

The court heard how Lee, of Broad Lane, was at the heart of the con which was based on "one great big lie".

He convinced potential buyer Terence Collins that he was a "close friend and associate" of the reclusive billionaire Barclay brothers, owners of the prestigious hotel in Piccadilly.

Anuja Dhir QC, for the prosecution, told the jury of nine women and three men: "The deal that sounded too good to be true was a complete fantasy."

The "simple but well-targeted and ambitious scam" offered the victims a tempting bargain in which they were promised everything but frustrated with unnecessary requests until they handed over £1m, Ms Dhir said.

In December 2006, Mr Collins sought the support of Dutch financier Marcus Boekhoorn, of Apvodedo, to finance the £1m payment, telling him that the reclusive Barclay brothers' reasons for selling The Ritz through a third party were "secretive".

[bothwell_buyer]

a career in accountancy springs to mind! Could do well. And if that fails, become a solicitor.

[Raistlin]

a career in accountancy springs to mind! Could do well. And if that fails, become a solicitor.

Or a politician

[bothwell_buyer]

naw - they get caught out...

oh

so did that guy an his mates. They could progress to polllytishuns before becoming an accountant then

Whats Ally Darling doing now???

[Raistlin]

Same as before, Sod all...

[bothwell_buyer]

sodding all who?

[Bizarra]

Same as before, Sod all...

Sod all ??????? he must be on Viagra. Hope you are near the top of the queue :lol2:

[Raistlin]

Same as before, Sod all...

Sod all ??????? he must be on Viagra. Hope you are near the top of the queue

I'm right behind... this Asian lady :D

[bothwell_buyer]

Same as before, Sod all...

Sod all ??????? he must be on Viagra. Hope you are near the top of the queue :lol2:

ah

so thats why his hair is white and his eyebroos black??? or is his father one of the Marx brothers and his mother Marilyn Munro (one of the Scottish mountains)