Francis Smart, aged 46, and proprietor of Smart Residential Letting Agents, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in respect of retaining rent and deposits under S1 Fraud Act 2006 in August 2022 after it emerged that he had broken the law by pocketing tenancy deposits instead of placing these into a Deposit Protection Scheme.
He was subsequently sentenced to 32 months per offence, to run concurrently, by a judge at Ipswich Crown Court last summer, who commented that Smart’s actions were “particularly sad” adding that he had “betrayed those who trusted you and caused a lot of distress”.
Officers from Suffolk Trading Standards worked alongside colleagues from the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigations Team to secure the conviction after more than 30 witnesses alleged that they had faced substantial losses after using Smart’s services.
Both Trading Standards teams also applied to have Mr Smart disqualified as a company director, with a judge agreeing to this for a period of 8 years at Ipswich Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, 15 June).
Graham Crisp, Head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said:
“Francis Smart being banned from being a director of any company registered in the UK for 8 years is an excellent outcome for Suffolk Trading Standards and our colleagues from the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigations Team, who I would like to personally thank for their help with the matter.
"Yesterday’s ruling also means that Smart is not allowed to be involved in the forming, marketing or running of a company for the same time period, which should bring some comfort to his clients who lost thousands of pounds due to his lies and deceit, and that he will not be able to repeat these actions once out of prison.”
Councillor Andrew Reid, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Public Protection, added:
“I am continuously grateful to officers from Suffolk Trading Standards for their tireless work to rid our county of rogue traders, enabling residents to remain protected and creating a level playing field for legitimate businesses.
“Securing justice against Francis Smart is the latest in a long line of successful court cases for the team, and I have no doubt that their actions have stopped landlords, including those who bought an investment property to fund their retirement, from facing any further losses from a despicable fraudster who didn’t think twice about blatantly disregarding the law.”
By law, a deposit must be placed in a Deposit Protection Scheme within 30 days of the landlord receiving it, and landlords are also obligated to provide information to tenants about where their deposit is held.
Anyone who suspects that an individual or business is fraudulently trading can report their suspicions in confidence by contacting Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133.
