Serial fraudster jailed for £8.5m property scam spanning 75 homes

A serial fraudster who carried out one of Britain’s biggest ever property swindles and spent the proceeds on a house and a raft of sports cars has been jailed for 10 years.

Anopkumar Maudhoo, 46, made at least £8.5million from 45 victims by selling them homes he did not own across London and the South East.

Maudhoo, an illegal immigrant from Mauritius who should have been deported in 2010, ran a large-scale conveyancing scam offering investment opportunities in the purchase of repossessed properties, or the redevelopment of plots of land.

But in reality, the houses were not subject to repossession proceedings, and the genuine owners were unaware of the fraudulent sales.

Two buyers purchased the same house in Eaton Terrace, Belgravia, where homes can fetch well over £10m. Three victims lost £600,000 each.

Maudhoo used faked documents and solicitors’ stamps in the fraud and went by a number of aliases - all of which allowed him to live a life of fabulous luxury.

He bought a £97,000 speedboat and 19 luxury cars including Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins, and a £200,000 Porsche GT3 RS. He was arrested last year and, after pleading guilty to 31 offences, was jailed for 10 years on Friday.

Some of the assets, including a luminous purple Aston DB12 with the personalised number plate PA12 CAL reflecting one of his false aliases, have been seized.

Interpol has issued a Silver Notice, a new form of colour-coded notice it launched this year, in a bid to find what remains of his assets around the globe. 

One elderly victim even claimed the stress and anxiety contributed to his stroke.

’The scam did not just rob me of my life savings, it stole my sense of stability and future for my family,’ added another victim.

Zayn Ahmed, who lost £230,000, said in a statement that the scam had a ’profound and devastating impact’ leading to ’sleepless nights and deep emotional distress’.

In remarks reported by The Sun, Mr. Ahmed said: ’I placed my trust in him believing him to be a genuine individual but was left emotionally and financially shattered.

’I felt humiliated by being taken in by someone I believed to be honest. It has also deeply affected my family and the stress and emotional strain have taken a toll on our relationships.

’The financial blow has been devastating and I fear I may never recover from it.’

Investigators found he sold 75 properties or development plots since 2021, with victims located across north London, Hertfordshire, and Essex.

Alongside cars, he bought a £3million property in Radlett, Hertfordshire, for £3million, and rented a flat in Park Vista Tower, east London, for £6,000 a month, where police found cash, luxury goods, and items linked to fraud.

There were also more than 20 personalised number plates referencing his many aliases.

Maudhoo was listed for sentence at Southwark Crown Court as Vincent LeBouf - one of many fake names alongside Rossello Di Paolo, Pascal Burns, Yusuf Khan, and Hamid Khan and Vicenzo Conte.

Following his arrest on September 22 last year, Maudhoo told police his name was Pascal Burns and produced a Portuguese driving license in that name. But a phone was later found in his prison cell on which he had arranged for a false passport.

He earlier admitted 31 charges including 14 counts of fraud by false representation against six victims. He also asked for 45 further instances of fraud by false representation against 39 victims to be taken into account by the judge.

Maudhoo also has previous convictions for fraud, linked to him subletting a flat under the guise of being the landlord - when he was renting the property himself. 

Prosecutor Simon Wiltshire, KC, said: ’Mr. LeBouf sold properties to individuals when he wasn’t allowed to sell them.

’In relation to the true identity of Mr. LeBouf the crown believe him to be Mr. Anopkumar Maudhoo, a Mauritian national who first came to the attention of the Home Office in 2010 when he was seeking to act as a sponsor on an application for residence and supplied a false identity document in the name of Vincent Holland.

’Home Office checks found no official record for Mr. Maudhoo and he was treated as an illegal entrant to the UK.

’A deportation order was made and efforts to enforce it remained until April 2016 by which time he ceased signing on at a police station and so was circulated as an immigration absconder since 2016.’

He said of the charges: ’The counts of fraud by false representation relate to LeBouf dishonestly representing himself to six individuals that he had access to repossessed properties available to be purchased at a discount to market value.

’While all the properties existed none had been repossessed. Some were rental properties people had allowed LeBouf to act as a rental agent for through one of his companies.

’Other properties were being managed by legitimate property management companies. Some were properties being managed by legitimate property management companies being advertised for rent via Zoopla.

’Other properties were simply in private ownership lived in by owners who first learned of a fraud when the unsuspecting new owners turned up at their front door being confronted by someone adamant they owned his house.’

Mr. Wiltshire said victims included both experienced property investors and mothers and fathers trying to secure a future for their children.

At Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, victims called Maudhoo’s fraud a ’cruel and calculated act of deception’, causing a ’deep sense of betrayal’ and ’shame’.

Defence counsel John Ojakovah said Maudhoo wanted to apologise to all the victims in the court.

But asked by Recorder Zayne Malik KC whether his client had actually shown remorse, Mr. Ojakovah said: ’I’m not standing before the court and saying Mr. LeBouf is remorseless. 

’Actions speak louder, he has admitted fully his wrongdoing... I’m not putting him forward as a completely changed character.’

Maudhoo also admitted 16 counts of possessing a false identity document with improper intention and one count of perverting the course of justice. The offences took place between April 2021 and December 2024.

He has 25 previous convictions for fraud and has used his different identities to evade the police and immigration authorities.

Sending him down for 10 years, Judge Mr. Recorder Zane Malik KC told Maudhoo: ’Although I am unsure of your true name I am satisfied you are a thoroughly dishonest individual.

’You are an individual who has caused profound harm and devastation to many lives. You deceived your victims through a web of lies and calculated deceit.

’You spent the proceeds of your frauds on living a lavish lifestyle. You have demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the law and a callous indifference to the suffering of your victims.

’I have no hesitation in concluding your offending had serious detrimental effects on victims including emotional and psychological harm.’

Further enquiries are now taking place by ERSOU’s financial investigators using Proceeds of Crime Act legislation. 

Detective Inspector Damian Barlow, from the Eastern Region Special Operation’s Unit’s organised crime squad, said: ’It’s a fantastic result that Maudhoo will now be spending an extended period behind bars.

’We’ve already turned our attention to identifying any further assets that could be used to compensate his victims.’