‘Manipulative’ broker found guilty

'Manipulative' broker found guilty



A property professional has been found guilty of an offence that saw thousands of pounds in losses…. .


A property professional has been found guilty of an offense that saw thousands of pounds in losses.

Jason Lee Churchill, of Duchy Grove, Harrogate, was found guilty of three counts of fraud by false representation at Sheffield Crown Court on the 24th November.

Fraud Manager in South Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, Graham Wragg, said: “Churchill was a skilled manipulator and influencer, convincing individuals and businesses to agree to hand over hundreds of thousands of pounds for property and land development deals that didn’t exist. Instead, he used the money to dig himself out of financial trouble with the authorities.”

“Churchill has consistently denied all allegations put to him, despite overwhelming evidence and witness testimony. We are indebted to the witnesses’ perseverance throughout our investigation and the trial.

“Without their continued support, we may not have been able to bring this case to such a successful conclusion.”

On the 24th of November the jury heard how in 2009 Churchill approached a number of UK companies trying to sell land and property development deals in Yorkshire.  Companies lost around £460,000 due to the scheme.

At this point the Churchill used his company, Bridge Properties (Yorkshire) Limited, to negotiate with companies and individuals to buy their properties and negotiating on the sale price asking for an additional ‘vendor gifted deposit’, which gave him an extra discount on the price.

He arranged for the money to be deposited in separate bank accounts until the arranged deals completed on the same date in June 2009, however he asked for the ‘vendor gifted deposit’ to be released to him earlier.

The money went towards the purchase of a car park in Bradford from Astoria Properties Limited, another one of Churchill’s companies. It was discovered by a South Yorkshire Police investigation that the cash was used to pay off an outstanding VAT bill.

Churchill will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday 19th December
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