A conman who stole his landlord's identity to sell his £1 million house in one of London's most exclusive areas was jailed three years today.
Steven Rice, 43, was part of a gang of fraudsters who used false names to rent two houses in South Kensington.
Using bogus identity documents, Rice then adopted his landlord's name to sell the home for just over £1 million, Southwark Crown Court heard.
The conman was caught when he tried to transfer the proceeds from the sale of the house in Donne Place to an account in Dubai.
A diligent bank employee spotted he was using a fake driving licence in the name of the 83-year-old owner and reported him.
Passing sentence the judge, Mr Recorder Phillip Bartle QC said Rice was at the 'front end of the fraud'.
'Although I accept, as does the prosecution, that you were not the principle architect in relation to this fraud ... you were as has been described at the front end of the fraud in which you did play a part.'
The judge continued: 'You were used by other people, I have no doubt about that.'
Rice claimed he had been offered £10,000 to provide his photographs and signature to the gang of fraudsters but had no idea how they would be used until his arrest.
The judge said this was an 'undoubtedly carefully planned and sophisticated' con.
Prosecutor Gavin Ludlow-Thompson told the court: 'This case involved the plundering of an innocent person's identity on a grand scale. 'The prosecution say that this was a skilfully orchestrated and planned fraud involving millions of pounds.
'In a nutshell what the defendant and the other members of the gang were seeking to do was to get control of high value properties in the Kensington and Chelsea area and then posed as the vendor of the property either to sell it or to raise funds by way of a mortgage or loans.'
In September last year, former yachting Olympian Vernon Stratton, put his three-storey, four bedroom house in Donne Place up for rent.
Rice and his gang of fellow conmen, none of whom have been caught, managed to secure the tenancy agreement for the house, which is behind Harrods, using a fake passport and references in the name of Stewart Knight.
'Two electronic transfers were made from an account in Dubai in December and January for around £20,000 in advance rent and deposits,' the prosecutor said.
Once Rice, who was in Dubai at the time, had control of the property his henchmen quickly changed the locks and went about gathering information in order to 'purloin' the identity of Mr Stratton, who lived on the Isle of Wight.
Within weeks a 'facilitator' had been approached by the gang to sell the property.
Mr Stratton's home was then sold to property company Pall Mall Developers for £1.047 million.
The money was then paid into a fraudulent account set up in the landlord's name.
Rice was caught out on March 15 of this year, just a day after arriving from overseas, when he went into a branch of Halifax in Brompton Road and asked to transfer £850,000 to a Dubai account.
Staff raised the alarm when Rice presented them with a 'poor quality' fake driving license in Mr Stratton's name, and he was arrested shortly afterwards.
Detectives discovered Rice had also been involved in an attempt in October last year to secure a loan on a £4m home at 27 Montpelier Square in Knightsbridge.
The defendant adopted the name of Alan Mason to take a tenancy and a loan of £489,235 was agreed to be advanced by Lloyds TSB bank.
But the attempt was thwarted at the last minute and the money transfer was cancelled.
Others were involved in both scams, including a female accomplice who posed as the owner of the Montpelier Square house, Caroline MacKay Lewis.
Mr Ludlow Thompson confirmed that no other arrests had been made but said 'enquires were ongoing'.
The defendant is the managing director of a company called Alchemy Yachting, which refurbishes luxury yachts in Majorca and Singapore and employs 50 people.
Jacqueline Vallejo, defending, said Rice was under enormous financial strain due to the recession and mounting debts. She said he owes at least £50,000 in unpaid tax and VAT. Rice was promised £10,000 for the 'successful' completion of the fraud.
Ms Vallejo said: 'No one else is before the court. 'He is the fall guy and is taking the wrap for everybody else.'
Rice, of Basingfield Close, Old Basing, Basingstoke, Hants, admitted two counts of possessing a false ID document with intent and one count of acquiring criminal property.
He also admitted a charge of acquiring criminal property in relation to the Montpelier Square fraud, and asked for it to be taken into account for the purpose of sentencing.
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