Conman targeted the elderly to defraud them out of millions

Eighty-year-old Donald Matthews thought he was safeguarding his family's future when he signed over his house in 2008 to a company he was assured would protect his assets.

But after his death in 2016, the company called Universal Wealth Preservation (UWP) sold his home in Suffolk for hundreds of thousands of pounds and Matthews' children saw none of the money.

Later it would be uncovered that the head of UWP, Steven Long, 59, from Kesgrave near Ipswich, had defrauded Matthews along with 114 other people using the same scam leading to a combined loss of more than £11m.

Donald's son, Paul Matthews, described Long's actions as "disgusting" as Long was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Paul, 67, a retired postman from Lowestoft, Suffolk, said that in 2008 his father received a flyer explaining how to protect his assets by entrusting his home over to Long and UWP.

The aim, Paul said, was "to protect the house from being used for care home fees at a later date" so it could be left to relatives to sell.

Paul did not think his father sought advice, but said he was of sound mind when he signed over his home, paying £3,500 upfront and £211 per year to UWP.

After his father died in December 2016 aged 89, followed by his wife Olive who died in 2017 aged 89, Paul began to make arrangements to sell their home in Beyton, near Bury St Edmunds, with UWP.

He first believed "everything was going according to plan", but by January 2018, Paul started to worry after the sale felt it was taking too long and the communication became poor.

"The trust is supposed to send the money to the beneficiaries, in this case me and my brother, which they never did, they kept it," he said.

The home sold for £260,000, but Paul never saw any of the money which left him "angry".

He sought help from a solicitor who suggested contacting the police and officers confirmed they had heard from other potential victims.

"My parents have worked all their lives to provide for their children and their grandchildren ultimately and that's been stolen," Paul said.

"I think it's disgusting... I don't trust anyone anymore," he added.

Deborah Wildish from Paddock Wood, Kent, and her sister Belinda Bosi, from Hailsham, Sussex, similarly lost thousands to UWP.

In2016 a leaflet came through the door, detailing UWP and what Long could offer.

Thinking it could be good to start a trust for their father, they attended a meeting at a hotel in Eastbourne where Wildish said there was an "impressive set up".

The sisters said Long came across trustworthy and later he helped them sell a flat their parents owned with no issues.

So when both their parents passed away they "thought nothing of dealing" with him again to sell their house and he "seemed like the perfect person to do that", Wildish said.

Long even came to visit them at Wildish's home to discuss the future.

"When you meet someone face to face, you feel you know them... we felt we could trust him," Bosi,65,explained.

"He seemed to be interested in your story, interested in what you were planning to do, if you needed help or guidance... we felt he knew us by name, we weren't just a number."

During the sale, Long and his staff kept promising the sisters they would see their money, which Bosi needed to buy a property in Portugal.

Some money came in "dribs and drabs" according to Wildish, but they are still missing £84,000.

Wildish had been hoping to use the money to retire and said her dad would be "absolutely devastated" by what had happened.

Long ran several businesses under UWP in Ipswich between 2008 and 2018, according to the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit.

He would advertise his services by posting leaflets through front doors across England including in Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

Det Ch Insp Rob Burns, who worked on the investigation, said he would then utilise luxury hotels and conference suits to hold seminars that were "very professional".

Burns said in the beginning UWP was legitimate, but Long's actions spiralled out of control due to poor business management and he began using his client's money to keep the company afloat.

Long eventually began using his the money to fund his lavish lifestyle with many properties in and outside the UK.

Long was arrested in April 2018 and in December 2018 jailed for eight months for contempt of court when he failed to provide information to help track down his clients' missing money.

At a High Court hearing he claimed he had little more than the clothes on his back and a push bike.

He was later charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of trust after he had caused 115 victims financial losses totalling £11,577,762.

Long pleaded guilty to the offences in March at Southwark Crown Court and on Fridaywas jailed for eight years and fours months.

His business associate, Raymond Simpson, who is believed to be in Portugal, was also jailed for five and a half years after being tried and convicted in his absence of two counts of fraud, one between 1 January 2014 and 23 April 2018 and the other between 1 May 2015 and 23 April 2018.

During the sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Gregory Perrins considered 37 victim impact statements, excerpts of which were read by the prosecution.

The court heard how Long had left some of them with feelings of "guilt and shame" while others said they hoped their late relatives would forgive them.

When jailing Long, Judge Perrins said: "Your offending has taken a very heavy toll on the lives of so many and you should feel deeply ashamed."

He added that he had "abused the trust" of particularly vulnerable people "to keep your business running and so you and your family could enjoy all the trappings of wealth".

Judge Perrins said Simpson had assisted Long by using money taken from trust accounts to "invest in a series of increasingly reckless investments".

Dr Elisabeth Carter, a criminologist at Kingston University London, said: "Central to this fraud is really harnessing the fear of the individuals - the fear of losing your money, fear of not being able to pass on money as inheritance and also fear of not being able to protect the money that you've worked so many years to build up.

"The victims of this fraud, far from being irresponsible with their money, they're doing what they think to be the very best thing and that's what's so devastating," she added.

Amy Wallhead, a partner at Culver Law and one of the national directors of the Association of Lifetime lawyers, said it was not possible to ring-fence property to protect it from care fees.

"Social services deem that to be a deliberate deprivation of assets if they think you've put your property or any of your assets out of reach for the sole purpose of not paying care fees," she said.

"Unfortunately, [these scams are] very common, and they're getting more and more sophisticated."

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