Express & Star

£1 million Black Country fraudster on the run after fleeing mid-trial

A Black Country fraudster who made around £1 million from a scam he ran for 10 years is on the run from police.

Published

Michael Phelan, aged 61, from Stourbridge, was jailed for seven and a half years in his absence after he fled from his trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

The jury found him guilty of 33 offences of fraud and theft for running a business franchise scam between 1997 and 2010.

Phelan turned up for the first day, but never returned on day two, having claimed that he was unwell and waiting to be admitted into hospital.

Inquiries were made from the court which found Phelan had lied and had no further intention of attending the court process.

A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Phelan, of no fixed abode, used the name Mike Jones to dupe people to invest in his scam by promising them a guaranteed level of earnings and their money back within 12 months if they decided that the business opportunity was not for them.

The scam involved attracting people to buy the rights to distribute his books in a specific geographical area.

The books were a range of four titles entitled The Strangest and included one called The Strangest Pubs in Britain.

The distribution rights cost between £4,750 and £79,000. However, often the books were unavailable or promised support never materialised.

Despite the people's dissatisfaction with the scheme, Phelan kept advertising for more agents to cover more areas.

Over the course of the trial the court heard evidence from more than 30 witnesses from across the country who had invested money in the scam.

He was sentenced to seven and a half years for the deception offences, and a further four and a half years for the theft offences, to run concurrently.

Lord Toby Harris, Chairman of National Trading Standards, said: "Mr Phelan operated this fraudulent scheme for nearly a decade and enriched himself to the tune of around £1 million.

"At the same time his victims were left out of pocket and in many cases bankrupt or homeless.

"I am pleased with the news of this conviction and I would like to thank all those involved with this investigation for their efforts."

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