Richard Jermone, aged 62 and his wife, Hazel Jerome, aged 60, of McCorquodale Road, Wolverton, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud at Huntington Crown Court yesterday (15/6). Mr Jerome also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of fraud and a charge of obtaining money by deception.

Both Mr and Mrs Jerome were granted bail and will return to Huntingdon Crown Court on 14 July for sentencing.

The charges relate to a property scam which began in March 2006. The couple offered cash to buy a property in Bradville, Milton Keynes, from a work colleague of Mrs Jerome. They then offered to rent the property until the sale was completed. Once in the property they failed to pay the agreed rent and refused to leave. It took 12 months for the couple to be evicted from the property through the County Court.

The couple repeated the scam a second time in March 2007 on a property in Stoke Hammond, Milton Keynes. They were finally evicted in September 2007 after failing to pay any rent.

Full details of the scam were only uncovered after the couple were arrested by police in Milton Keynes for driving a stolen car, which was identified by the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system. Det Sgt John Baston had previous knowledge of Mr Jerome from a case 30 years earlier and did some further investigation which revealed details of the fraud.

Det Sgt Baston, who recently retired, said: “I am pleased that Mr and Mrs Jerome finally have to face up to the consequences of their actions. They caused two families months of stress and heartache and all because these people took pity on their stories and trusted what Mr and Mrs Jermone told them. Two of the victims involved in the fraud died from illnesses before they got to see justice done.

“This couple showed no consideration or compassion for their victims. They gained their trust then betrayed them and in the process cost their victims thousands of pounds.”