Milton Keynes fraudster jailed after fleecing vulnerable people out of their retirement savings

Steven Kiss, 33, of Oakridge Park, pocketed a total of more than £200,000 from four different victims, Luton Crown Court heard.

He promised to help them invest their money into various businesses, making them believe they would get a decent financial return to support their retirement.

In fact, the victims were left isolated and in debt.

Kiss was handed a three year sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation.

The court heard how one victim received some inheritance money and enlisted the help of Kiss to invest it wisely, transferring more than £80,000.

Kiss would often transfer small sums of money to the victim, in order to make her investments seem legitimate. However, there was never any evidence that the money was invested into anything.

The victim, who was left with nothing, said: “When he came into my life, he made me feel that I had things to look forward to again and life could be exciting. He seemed genuinely interested in my welfare and excited about the investments he could offer me.

“I have been too embarrassed to admit to family and friends that I trusted him and lost so much money as a result. These are the very people I would normally turn to in a crisis, but I sacrificed their support and suffered alone rather than bear the humiliation.”

Kiss also targeted another woman for £12,500, and a man was conned into investing £2,500 into a bond. Neither of these were ever invested.

When investigating, Bedfordshire Police officers discovered another woman had been paying Kiss large sums of money in 2017 and 2018, including a payment of £70,000.

The victim was forced to sell her home and has been left paying off large loans.

She said: “As a result of the huge financial loss of money, my home, my car and trust in anyone, I have lost confidence in myself and my abilities to make good decisions.”

His Honour Judge Charles Gratwicke described Kiss as ‘mean and nasty’ during sentencing and said: “Having gained the confidence of your victims, you greedily, dishonestly and in breach of trust persuaded them to hand over cash. You told them it would be invested in different ways. You told different lies to different victims.”

DC Mirian Khajavelidze, from Bedfordshire Police’s Serious Fraud Team, said: “Kiss targeted vulnerable individuals, forming close friendships before taking away their life savings to fund his own gambling addiction.

“In some instances, he convinced them to remortgage their homes and take out loans, leaving them suffering with crippling debt and resulting in them having to sell their homes.

“He left the victims feeling ashamed and isolated from family members, allowing them to believe they had nowhere to turn.

“This should not be the case, and no one should ever feel humiliated. Kiss was a con artist who preyed on vulnerable people and insecurities, and the victims have been so brave in coming forward and sharing their experience.

For more information on how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of fraud, visit the Action Fraud website.