Fraudster pretended to be Mortgage Advisor to Scam Victims

Jaspal Singh Juttla, aged 64, of Northwood, London, was jailed for three years after he conned four victims out of nearly £16,000 by pretending to be a mortgage advisor.

He had offered to help his victims, some of whom could speak little to no English, in property purchases before fleecing them of their money.

Juttla would meet his clients, who were predominantly Indian, at various locations across London, with some victims targeted at open house viewings.

He promised victims to fill out their mortgage applications, arrange a survey for them and put them in touch with a solicitor to assist with a house purchase.

After the victims paid the requested fee, Juttla would request more money to cover services that he had made up.

None of these services were carried out and all arrangements failed to surface for the property buyers.

When the victims contacted Juttla, he would create excuses in an attempt to put them at ease.

In some instances, he provided victims with a refund by bank transfer but it was never the full amount of the payments he had originally received.

Juttla came to the attention of the police in January 2021 after Action Fraud received a crime report from one victim.

Officers discovered Juttla had stolen a total of £15,790 and was subsequently charged on July 20, 2022.

Juttla pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of carrying on a regulated activity when not authorised to do so at Uxbridge Magistrates Court.

At Isleworth Crown Court he was jailed for three years.

Financial investigators from the Met’s Economic Crime team believe that there are other victims that are yet to come forward.

DC Anita Sharma, Financial Investigator in the Central Specialist Crime Unit, said:

“Jaspal Singh Juttla is a persistent fraud who has exploited people in his own community, using their hard-earned money to fund his lifestyle.

“We are grateful to those victims who have been brave enough to come forward in this case but there may be other people conned by Juttla who have not spoken to police.

“I urge anyone who suspects they may be a victim of Juttla to come forward and report it by calling Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or contacting them online.”

Juttla was previously jailed for five years in 2014 for a similar crime.

He posed as a mortgage advisor and promised big investment returns to his victims if they invested in his property schemes.

Convinced, the victims handed over nearly £650,000.