Richard Lester, a fraudster who posed as a lord, was sentenced to five years in prison for a £400,000 scam involving fake cruise holidays. He sold sham cruise miles to 184 victims worldwide and spent their money on online gambling.
Richard Lester, a fraudster from Luton, has been sentenced to five years in prison for a £400,000 scam involving fake cruise holidays. Lester operated under the guise of his company, Cruise Direct UK Ltd, selling sham cruise miles to 184 victims worldwide. He spent the money on online gambling, leaving his customers stranded when cruise operators refused their boarding.
Judge Alexander Mills, presiding over the case at Chelmsford Crown Court, described the victims' heartbreak, saying they watched their dream holidays 'drift off into the morning sun'. The sentencing followed a decade-long investigation by Essex Police, which received reports from 324 potential victims.Lester used various aliases, including Lord Lester, Henry Lester, Les Richards, Richie Lescovitch, and Barry Williams, to further deceive customers. The judge stated that victims were tricked by 'deliberately convoluted' terms and conditions, while Lester, a professional gambler, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in Las Vegas. One victim flew to Fort Lauderdale in Florida only to be turned away at the port, leaving them 'confused and frustrated'. Another victim, Kim Berthen from Australia, booked a cruise to celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary, only to be scammed. She shared her experience in a statement read to the court, expressing how she 'stupidly invested in this company thinking of wonderful holidays together'. Lester's company was dissolved by Companies House in August 2014, leaving customers with millions of unusable cruise miles. Prosecutor Andrew Evans highlighted that Lester used a 'cloak of legitimacy' to mislead customers with fabricated documents suggesting booked cruises. Agents working for Lester also suffered the consequences of his actions, fielding angry inquiries from stranded customers. Elizabeth Erskine, an agent based in New South Wales, Australia, described her experience as 'harrowing'. The investigation revealed victims across the globe, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan. While defense attorney Tania Panagiotopoulou argued that there were 'thousands of satisfied customers' before Lester's criminal activities, Judge Mills refuted this, stating that Lester 'gaslit' his victims by blaming them for cancelled holidays. He condemned Lester's actions as a 'well planned and complex fraud carried out over a lengthy period of time, and it was done knowingly and willingly on your part'
FRAUD CRIME CRUISE HOLIDAYS SCAM Gambling
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