A man who acted as a "broker" to negotiate a loan for the owner of a convenience store stole more than £5,500 from the shopkeeper, a court has heard. Stephen Walker had been given the money in good faith to forward to the loan company but instead kept it and spent it on alcohol and gambling.
Walker's barrister said his client was arranging loans from his family to pay back what he had taken, but a judge at Swansea Crown Court said that, given the defendant's history of dishonest offending, she was sceptical about that claim.
The judge also told the defendant that if he was not telling the truth about having caring responsibilities for his child he would find himself "in a far more dangerous position". For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter
Matt Murphy, prosecuting, told the court that in late 2022 the owner of a corner shop in Peterborough decided to seek a loan to help with the running of the business and, after discussing the idea with friends who had done something similar, was put in touch with Walker.
The defendant and the shopkeeper spoke over the phone in January, 2023, and the following month a £17,000 loan with YouLend was agreed.
The court heard the agreement involved specialised point of sale terminals being installed in the store which would deduct 20% of any sale as repayment on the loan with the remaining 80% going to the shop.
The total amount of loan and interest to be repaid was £22,950.
The prosecutor said that in April the shopkeeper decided to pay a lump sum off the loan and contacted Walker - it was agreed the shopkeeper would transfer him £5,627 which he would pay to YouLend.
The court heard that in May the shopkeeper then decided to sell the store, and as part of the process contacted the loan provider. The prosecutor said the firm told the shopkeeper that Walker did not work for them and no lump sum had been received.
Furthermore, the firm told the complainant that no repayments had been received at all and the loan was at the point of default. The court heard the shop loan was subsequently passed to debt collectors.
Police were notified and in his subsequent interview the defendant accepted receiving the money from the shopkeeper and said he had spent it all on gambling and drinking.
Stephen Walker, of Hill Street, Gowerton, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The court heard he had three previous convictions for four offences, namely benefit fraud, business loan frauds, and making off with petrol without paying.
Ieuan Rees, for Walker, said the circumstances of the case were unusual, and that it seemed the defendant had an "intermediary" between the parties who negotiated the loan and "was to all intents and purposes, a broker", though he said given his client's convictions for dishonesty it was not clear in what capacity he was operating.
He said the special repayment terminals had never in fact been installed in the Peterborough shop so no repayments had been made, and he said when the shopkeeper rang Walker about paying off a lump sum he had committed the "opportunist offence" before the court.
The barrister added that Walker was arranging to borrow money off family members to pay back what he had taken.
Judge Catherine Richards said Walker had abused the position he had been put in to take the complainant's money, and she noted that he had been using a "professional-looking" email address to conduct communications. She said, given the defendant's history of dishonesty offences, she would treat his claims about paying back the money "with a degree of scepticism".
The judge said in coming to the appropriate sentence she was relying on the truthfulness of assertions by the defendant that he had caring responsibilities for his young child, and she told him that if those assertions turned out to be incorrect "You will find yourself in a far more dangerous position".
With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Walker was sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation course.