A prolific fraudster whose victims included a man from Nantwich, has been jailed after spending nearly seven years on the run.
Martin Jack, who was jailed yesterday for six years and six months, began his crime spree in 2015 when police first received a complaint from a Nantwich resident.
Jack, 40, of Kings Road, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port, had promised to deliver a caravan to his first victim and took £500 as a deposit.
But the caravan never arrived and the victim was unable to contact Jack.
An investigation was launched and detectives identified Jack as the main suspect. He was arrested in January 2016 and denied any involvement and was released on conditional bail.
Detectives then identified a total of 17 people across the UK who reported that they were also victims of Jack.
Between them they had handed £139,737 as deposits for caravans that never arrived.
The deposits ranged from £100 to £18,850 for just one caravan while a business owner in Northumbria handed over £24,000 for three caravans.
All the victims provided a similar story, telling officers they had ordered caravans from Jack but after handing over their deposits they were all given constant excuses as to why they had not been delivered.
Eventually, after chasing him for a number of weeks, he would block his victims from contacting him.
In November 2016, Jack was aware the case was closing in on him and fled the UK to Dubai where he lived off the proceeds of his crimes.
After spending four years in Dubai, he then moved to Spain.
Jack eventually returned to the UK in November 2022 where he attempted to enter the country under the radar by getting a ferry to Dover.
However, he was identified, arrested and transferred to Cheshire to face the consequences of his actions.
He pleaded guilty to 17 counts of fraud by false representation and six counts of possession of criminal property.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Mark Hughes, who led the investigation, said: “Jack was a well-known caravan salesman, he previously had a good reputation and was trusted by his customers.
“However, he abused this trust and used it to his advantage, deceiving his customer out of thousands of pounds.
“Some of these victims were elderly and had invested their life savings to purchase holiday homes at parks across the UK.
“Jack promised them fantastic deals which were never delivered.
“Not only that but after taking their money he used it to fund his own lavish lifestyle, travelling across the world in his failed attempt to evade justice.
“Thankfully, after eight years on the run, he has now been held accountable for his actions, which I hope will provide some justice to his victims.
“Following his sentencing, we will now look to pursue a proceeds of crime hearing, to help recover as much of the stolen money as possible and return it to its rightful owners.”
They only lost money, some even only 500. OK not fun for them but hardly the end of the world
The sentence does no justice to his crimes. His victims must be devastated at the losses they have suffered