Director jailed over rent-to-buy mortgage scam

Turner-Miller set up a rent-to-buy scheme and told vulnerable victims he could successfully obtain a mortgage for them, allowing them to purchase the property of their dreams.

To participate in the scheme, which Turner-Miller advertised as government backed, victims were advised to provide a 5% deposit on a property.

Turner-Miller claimed the money would be held within a secure deposit account and upon completion of the scheme, would be returned to them.

However instead, he deposited the money into his own personal bank account.

North Yorkshire Police, working alongside Action Fraud, located a total of 11 victims of Turner-Miller, all of which had lost a significant amount of money.

At sentencing, Judge Ashurst stated that the level of harm this fraud had caused was extremely great and had adversely affected the financial and emotional state of each victim.

Investigating officer for North Yorkshire Police, DC Gary Smith Owen, said: “This has been a lengthy and meticulous investigation which started back in 2014, so we are pleased with the sentence that was returned by the court.

“I hope this sends out a strong message to those who think they can con people out of their hard earned savings and take advantage of people’s aspirations, if you are suspected of committing fraud, police will turn over every stone and analyse every detail of your business, in order to protect the vulnerable."