Briton jailed in Ritz hotel swindle case

A British judge sentenced a swindler to five years in jail Tuesday after he was convicted of trying to sell London's famed Ritz hotel for 250 million pounds ($390 million.

Anthony Lee, a 49-year-old unemployed truck driver, was found guilty of an "elaborate and outrageous scam" in which he persuaded a property developer to hand over 1 million pounds ($1.55 million) as part of a fake deal to sell the hotel.

He had convinced potential buyer Terence Collins that he was a "close friend and associate" of the reclusive Barclay brothers, the billionaire owners of the world-famous Ritz hotel in Picadilly.

Frederick and David Barclay had never heard of Lee and were unaware that he was trying to sell off their property, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Collins handed over the 1 million pounds, which was financed by a Dutch billionaire, to secure negotiations over the 2006 deal. But the sale never happened and the money was never returned.

AFP