£1million fraudster who conned Rebecca Adlington’s parents is given day out of prison

 
Confiscation order: Terence Shepherd owes £1.3 million
11 April 2014
WEST END FINAL

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A man who defrauded Rebecca Adlington’s parents in a ticket scam has been allowed out of prison for a family reunion despite failing to repay a penny of his £1.25 million criminal profits.

Terence Shepherd was ordered to hand back the cash after cheating the Adlingtons and thousands of other sports and music fans out of millions of pounds by charging for tickets which never arrived.

Despite failing to hand over any cash and serving an eight-year jail sentence, he was walking the streets of London last week with his wife during day release. It has also emerged that the sale of the £3.1 million Blackheath home that Shepherd’s wife is meant to be disposing of is being delayed to allow her to achieve a greater profit.

Shepherd, who was told to repay his profits by April last year, was earlier revealed by the Standard to have been granted legal aid to fight prosecutors’ attempts to enforce an extra six-year “default” sentence for non-payment.

News of Shepherd’s day release was revealed during a hearing last week at Westminster magistrates’ court, at which the Serious Fraud Office sought the additional sentence.

Prosecutor Marie-Claire Amuah said Shepherd now owed £1.35 million because of interest charges, but had repaid nothing despite a promise at a previous hearing that three Blackheath properties owned by his wife Margaret Canty-Shepherd would be sold.

Ms Amuah said the Shepherds’ £3.1 million home should have been put on the market on April 5, but the sale had been delayed for “cosmetic fixes” to give Mrs Canty-Shepherd more profit. Ms Amuah said: “Promise has followed promise, but action is what we need to see, not words. Mr Shepherd has not paid a penny.”

District judge Elizabeth Roscoe said: “I am not here to accept delayed payment because they want a greater part of equity.” She warned that the house might be auctioned, but agreed to defer a decision on the extra jail term plea until a hearing later this month.

Shepherd, 55, was jailed for eight years in 2011 after being convicted at Southwark crown court for fraudulent trading. His victims included Adlington’s parents Kay and Steve, who paid £1,100 for tickets to see her in the 400m freestyle at the 2008 Olympics. The tickets didn’t arrive and they missed seeing her win her first gold medal.

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