West Sussex pensioner will only get fraction of money back from conman

Abdul Ibraheem swindled retired accountant Alan Potter out of more than £340,000 and rented an £8,000-per-month house in Potters Bar which he turned into a footballer’s style mansion.

He also bought a £3,000 marble kitchen island just before he was busted by police from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu).

Police found Ibraheem swindled a total of £447,720.93 but after investigating his finances, specialist detectives could only recover £34,651.

The 36-year-old father of two was jailed for more than five years after Lewes Crown Court heard he was a practised and cynical fraudster.

He convinced Mr Potter, from West Sussex, to sign over his bank cards and give him £200,000 in cash.

Between July 2023 and December 2023, Ibraheem used the 84-year-old’s account details to secure rent on a property worth £3 million, making false representations to the letting agents by providing a false passport.

He also purchased a luxury holiday in Greece worth more than £11,500, a sofa worth £5,000, and other luxury goods.

A proceeds of crime hearing on Friday was told money recovered by police would be paid to Mr Potter and a letting agent.

Mr Potter will get back £33,403.56 - less than a tenth of the money he gave Ibraheem.

Judge Mark Van Der Zwart told Ibraheem at a hearing in Hove: "From the available amount, compensation has to be made from the confiscated money."

Ibraheem said he had been a semi-professional footballer and coach on the books of Chelsea FC before becoming a career fraudster.

He also claimed to have played for a string of other clubs including Gillingham.

Items seized from Ibraheem's home by South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Image: Sussex News and Pictures) Ibraheem convinced letting agents he was a £500,000-a-year city hedge fund manager and signed a tenancy agreement on an £8,000-a-month, £3m house.

He filled the mansion with expensive art, including a limited Banksy print, and had a room for his collection of trainers and joined an exclusive private members' club in Knightsbridge.

He took his family on holiday to Greece and flew first class on a trip to Ibiza - all paid for with Mr Potter’s money.

His living room had a £14,000 piano and a £3,000 marble kitchen island was installed just before police arrived with a warrant.

Ibraheem admitted nine charges with another two left on file in a hearing at Lewes Crown Court sitting in Brighton.

The court heard he targeted Mr Potter, a former accounting firm owner, after he had already lost £1.8m in a boiler room scam in 2022.

Ibraheem convinced Mr Potter he could recover the money he had already lost if he paid him £50,000.

Judge Gold said during sentencing that Ibraheem had gained Potter’s trust, then fleeced him.

Prosecuting, Nicholas Mather said Ibraheem exploited vulnerabilities and used his advantage to extract money from people in a practised and professional manner.

"Knowing Mr Potter had previously been the victim of fraud, the defendant used the money extracted from Mr Potter to fund his own lavish lifestyle,” he said.

Mr Potter described Ibraheem as well spoken and believable in a victim impact statement.

"When the full realisation of his activities and the lifestyle he was living on my money fully came home to me, I was embarrassed," he said.

"I have lost a huge amount of money and am now on the verge of possible bankruptcy.

"This money would have paid for me in my old age.

"I may have to sell my home.”

Ibraheem was jailed for a total of 61 months.

He will serve half in custody when he will be released on licence.

Officers from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit appealed for anybody who may have been a victim of Ibraheem to come forward.