Newmarket letting agent Frank Smart has been convicted of defrauding landlords of over £80,000 by retaining deposits and rents due them.
Smart, who traded as, pleaded guilty to charges under the Fraud Act when appearing at Ipswich Crown Court earlier this month.
It seems Smart Residential Letting Agents, which has offices at 5b Wellington Street, Newmarket, was a trading name and is unconnected with the very many other letting businesses with similar names.
Charges were brought after an investigation by Suffolk Trading Standards and National Trading Standards that started in 2018 following complaints from landlords. Smart Residential Letting Agents closed in July 2018.
Instead of entrusting tenant deposits to a protection scheme, as required by law, Smart, whose home address is in Cambridge, kept the money.
Suffolk County Council reported that Trading Standards had spoken to ‘numerous landlords’ who said they had received no rental income from the firm and had had to refund tenancy deposits out of their own pocket. ‘This resulted in individual losses ranging from £700 to over £8,000 and an estimated total loss in excess of £80,000’.
“This successful prosecution sends a very clear message to business owners, like Mr Smart, that fraudulent trading will not be tolerated in Suffolk.
Smarts’ actions had ‘led to countless landlords being significantly out of pocket, causing immeasurable personal and financial stress’, said Suffolk County Councillor Andrew Reid. The case highlighted ‘the importance of ensuring that any rental deposit is placed into a Deposit Protection Scheme’, he said.
