"Consummate conman" Michael Hart stole the money over 12 years

Michael Hart, 55, of Framingham Pigot, Norfolk, laundered crossed cheques payable to several building societies and paid them into his own account.

Hart admitted 14 charges of theft and asked for 42 other charges to be taken into consideration.

Hart was jailed for six years, on Friday, at Norwich Crown Court.

Swindled clients

The court heard Abbey National was the main bank involved, but some offences also took place at Norwich and Peterborough and the Leeds and Holbeck Building Societies.

The father-of-three - who has assets estimated at about �500,000 - swindled clients to fund a "lavish lifestyle", the court heard.

Hart, who worked for Norwich-based Lucas Fettes group, was confronted by his bosses in April after a client came forward. He confessed to the frauds.

He still owes about �1.5m of the �1.8m stolen from the clients.

This was so simple as to be unbelievable Victim Martin Helm

Martin Helm, 56, a public relations consultant from London, was swindled out of �28,000 by Hart and said Abbey National's failure to prevent the fraud was "scandalous".

"This was so simple as to be unbelievable. I gave Michael Hart a cheque to buy an ISA made payable to Abbey National because they were supplying the ISA.

"If you asked 1,000 people whether they thought it acceptable that cheques made out to one person could be paid into the bank account of another person without the person who signed the cheque knowing, not one would say it was acceptable."

In a statement, Abbey National said the procedure was "widespread industry practice", but it planned to implement changes in the New Year.

'Public concern'

Judge Peter Jacobs told the court: "In all of the 30 years I have been sitting in these courts, the lack of regulation exercised by banks and financial regulatory authorities never ceases to amaze me.

"It is something that as a member of the public I would be concerned about."

Judge Jacobs also ordered that Hart's assets should be confiscated, sold and the proceeds shared among the victims.

If that did not happen within nine months Hart would face an additional prison sentence of three-and-a-half years.

'Consummate conman'

Lucas Fettes group chairman, David Fettes, said: "He was a consummate conman. An unpleasant individual.

"I have a great sadness and abiding feeling that we will continue to work very hard with the clients to get their money back from the institutions. There are no winners here."

He said his firm was talking to the victims of the fraud and holding discussions with the Abbey National and building societies through which Hart passed the stolen cheques.

Det Con Steve Wood, who investigated Hart's fraud, said : "All the thefts that took place while in the employment of Lucas Fettes took place outside of the company's systems, procedures and controls.