Credit conman gets 11 years

Eric Fitzpatrick Danison posed as a successful businessman to convince his victims he could provide access to credit worth millions of pounds in return for advance fees. He then diverted the stolen funds to Swiss bank accounts to try to hide the dealings.

North Yorkshire Police's financial investigation unit tracked Danison for two and a half years after he tricked a Harrogate man into handing over 60,000.

In all, Danison was involved in investment scams totalling about 23m.

He pleaded guilty to numerous accounts of fraud last month at Birmingham Crown Court and, as well as an 11-year jail term, the fraudster has now also been disqualified from being a company director for 15 years.

In addition, Danison was given a 15-year serious crime prevention order to limit his activities when he leaves prison.

A police spokesman said: "Danison is a conman who operated on a truly international scale. His activities touched on victims within North Yorkshire."

Danison, 51, concealed his crimes by running a financial services company called Amkel Capital, from a rented office in London's Canary Wharf .

Detectives from North Yorkshire and the West Midlands investigating Danison's transactions made a breakthrough in March last year.

He was caught as he tried to launder 1.5m of his ill-gotten gains by buying Passenham Manor, a country house in Northamptonshire.