A brass-necked swindler from Broughty Ferry scammed an Angus couple out of tens of thousands of pounds by telling them he could get them cut-price shares in a major janitorial firm.
Sebastian Ward lied to the husband and wife he targeted for more than a year that he could invest in facilities management giants Mitie on their behalf.
They gave him £25,000 and the brazen con artist provided his victims with a fictitious share certificate to try to convince them the money he had pocketed had been used as claimed.
Despite Ward’s scam beginning months before the coronavirus pandemic hit, he has only paid back 40% of what he pilfered.
New dad Ward will be sentenced in the next year.
Guilty plea
Ward admitted that on various occasions at a property in Piperdam, he pretended to the couple he could purchase on their behalf shares in Mitie for a discounted rate.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, he pled guilty to inducing the pair to transfer him sums of money totalling £25,000 to make these purchases.
Ward continued to take the payments over a period of 13 months, from November 2019 until days before Christmas in 2020.
Callous Ward also admitted he then presented his unsuspecting victims with a share certificate which was subsequently found to be phoney.
In the dock, the 43-year-old, of Belltree Gardens in Broughty Ferry, admitted he obtained the five-figure sum of money by fraud.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond said: “There was £15,000 still outstanding.
“He was also due them legal fees but that’s a matter for the civil court.”
‘He holds his hands up’
The court heard Ward has offended before.
The scammer’s solicitor Kyra Strachan said: “Mr Ward, at this time, was addicted to drink and drugs and subsequently defrauded this couple.
“He understands that’s no excuse for what he’s done.
“He holds his hands up and apologises for what he’s done.
“He’s turned his life around, he’s attended alcoholics anonymous voluntarily. He’s got a six-month-old baby at home.”
Ward is currently subject to a community payback order for other offending.
Ms Strachan said her client is due to start work next month with a building contractor and property maintenance firm based in the Carse of Gowrie.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown deferred sentencing until February 6 and continued Ward’s bail.
She ordered a social work report and asked that Ward’s suitability for a restriction of liberty order be assessed ahead of the next hearing.
The sheriff also asked for confirmation of the exact amount of restitution still outstanding.
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