Steven Long Jailed 8 Years for £11.6 Million Scam That Defrauded 115 Elderly Victims
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 18
Steven Long Jailed 8 Years for £11.6 Million Scam That Defrauded 115 Elderly Victims
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 18
Summary
Southwark Crown Court jailed Steven Long, 59, for eight years and four months after he admitted two fraud-by-abuse-of-trust counts tied to losses of £11,577,762.
Police said Long used Universal Wealth Preservation to persuade older homeowners to transfer properties into trusts marketed as shielding assets from care-home fees, then diverted client money to prop up the business and fund a lavish lifestyle.
The scam ran from 2008 to 2018 and left families without sale proceeds, including Paul Matthews, whose parents' Suffolk home sold for £260,000, and two sisters still owed £84,000.
Judge Gregory Perrins said Long had abused the trust of particularly vulnerable people; business associate Raymond Simpson was jailed for five and a half years after conviction in absentia and is believed to be in Portugal.
Lawyers and criminologists said the fraud exploited fears over inheritance and care costs, while warning that putting property beyond reach to avoid care fees is not legally effective.