Herefordshire farmer loses £880k in Phillip Davies fraud

A Herefordshire farmer has told how he was forced to sell much of his farm and abandon retirement plans after being conned out of nearly £900,000 by a fraudster who branded his own behaviour "despicable".

Worcester Crown Court heard the fourth-generation farmer and his wife lost £880,164 to Phillip Davies, who persuaded them to invest in a cut flower business he claimed would supply supermarkets including Morrisons, M&S and Aldi.

The court heard the couple raised money through savings, loans from friends and bridging finance before handing it to Davies.

In a victim impact statement, the farmer said the fraud had ruined the farm and taken a heavy toll on his mental and physical health.

He told the court he had been forced to sell a large part of the farm to cope financially and was no longer able to retire.

The victim said he wanted Davies held accountable for the misery and heartbreak he had caused.

The farming couple were not the only people left counting the cost.

A second victim lost £48,153 after being persuaded Davies, 52, was a financial adviser who could invest his pensions and savings.

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Prosecutor James Dunstan said the man felt "silly, vulnerable and conned" and was also suffering with his mental and physical health.

The court heard he could not afford to retire and was having to continue working full-time.

A third victim lost more than £22,000 after investing in what turned out to be a fictitious hedge fund.

Mr Dunstan said the victim had been left with nothing and still had four children to support.

A fourth victim lost more than £48,000 after Davies claimed he could help with long-running probate issues and share purchases.

The court heard almost all of the family's money was taken, leaving her suffering sleepless nights and extreme worry.

In a statement, she said the ordeal made her feel "foolish", "let down" and "mugged", adding that it still sickened her to the stomach.

Davies, of Gladstone Court, Hawarden, Flintshire, admitted six counts of fraud by false representation committed between 2016 and 2019 and was jailed for six years and 10 months.

Sentencing him, Judge Martin Jackson said Davies had viewed the farming couple as "cash cows" who could be "remorselessly milked" for money.