A fraudster who fleeced unsuspecting caravan buyers out of more than £50,000 has been jailed for three years.
Gavin Pearson, 52, was the general manager at Coquet View Caravan Park, in Warkworth, when he carried out the unauthorised sale of caravans in 2017.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the crook convinced the victims to make cash payments for purchasing caravans, with many forced to make further payments to the site's owners after his scam came to light.
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Elizabeth Muir, prosecuting, said staff became suspicious when Pearson travelled down to Somerset to visit his sister after her husband became unwell and they discovered £3,000 was missing from the petty cash and safe.
When they searched his caravan it was clear Pearson wasn't planning to return, with letters from bailiffs and companies demanding payment left behind, the court heard.
When a new site manager was appointed and asked to go through all the sales a number of discrepancies were found, she said.
The court heard there were five victims who believed they had bought caravans from Pearson, giving various amounts of cash for the purchases and ground fees totalling around £50,000.
One victim was told a caravan was for sale for £6,000 and was asked to pay the money into his bank account, while another borrowed £10,000 from an elderly relative for the purchase, the court heard.
Muir told the court when one person had not received an invoice Pearson told them it "must have got lost in the post".
His victims were left further out of pocket when the site's owners contacted them to say the sales had been carried out fraudulently and they would need to make further payments to keep their caravans, the court heard.
One victim paid more than £16,000 in total to keep their caravan, Muir said.
Pearson, of Pyrland Avenue, Taunton, Somerset, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud on the day he was due to stand trial last year.
Reading out victim impact statements to the court, Ms Muir said one woman had been left "shaken" and was swaying between "angry and upset", while another said: "I am really angry with him".
In mitigation, the court heard Pearson was remorseful for his actions and had been going through a difficult time after the breakdown of a relationship.
On sentencing him to three years in prison, Recorder Anthony Kelbrick said the defendant had preyed on his victims with some losing their life savings.
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