Chris Flitter, 42, told unsuspecting victims he needed their bank details to transfer funds – but then used them to apply for more than 25 loans and transferred money to his own account.
In total, the defendant tried to borrow over £200,000, but many of his requests from lenders were turned down.
Conman Flitter managed to borrow over £23,000 using his ‘quite decent’ neighbour’s details and £18,000 using one of his own brother’s accounts.
Recorder Michael Auty QC told Flitter: ‘What you did was truly despicable – two of your victims were your own brothers.
“One of them was a neighbor who showed you nothing but kindness and the other was a trusted friend. You tried to get £200,000 rich.
Gregor Purcell, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court how in the time of year between 2019 and 2020 Flitter’s victims received ‘assurances’ that ‘things would be sorted out’ after misleading them .
However, the court heard her neighbor “may never recover” from Flitter’s frauds.
Mr Purcell said one of Flitter’s dupes was a friend of over 10 years who he was on holiday with and ‘shared school pick-ups’.
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He added: “This may have given the defendant the confidence to contact him and inform him that he had been involved in ready-to-pay investments and asked (the victim) to allow the making payments to its accounts.”
The court heard Flitter, who had no previous convictions and was a father of teenagers, managed to withdraw £7,500 on behalf of his friend while claims for a further £20,000 were denied.
Shannon English, defending Flitter, told the court it was “clear” that “something had gone wrong” for her client.
She added: “At the time of the offenses he was not at work, having been fired by his employer, he started gambling for survival.
“He admits he also took payday loans, he had a gambling addiction.”
Judge Auty said: ‘Mr Purcell described your conduct as sophisticated – I regard it as determined, it lasted ten and a half months.’
The judge, suspending a two-year prison sentence for two years, said the starting point in terms of sentencing after a trial would have been five years in prison.
However after mitigation and credit for his guilty plea which could be reduced to two years.
He said, “If I fired you for something like this today, what would it have done to your family?”
“That was some time ago – between two and three years ago and there was no repeat
“Part of the sentencing process is to consider the hope of rehabilitation and so in the end and by a hair’s breadth I’m taking a very exceptional course with you.
“Not out of any particular sympathy for you, but out of great sympathy for your wife and children.”
Flitter, of Brierley Road, Ripley, admitted nine counts of fraud. He was given 200 hours of unpaid work.
