Fraudulent yacht broker gets 12 months

['I’m afraid this is a very serious offence. I have little doubt you are an accomplished fraudster. You have no previous convictions but everything I have seen about this transaction leads to the view you knew exactly what you were doing. ]

So the judge gave him 12 months :confused:
 
Presumably the boat in question is in effect stolen and doesn't belong to the person who believes themselves to be rightfully in possession of it?
 
He was a well known Broker/dealer in the local area. My berth in Torquay was next door to his Ketch at one point a few years back (at least I think it was his!).
 
Ripster said:
He was a well known Broker/dealer in the local area. My berth in Torquay was next door to his Ketch at one point a few years back (at least I think it was his!).
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Christopher Webster told the seller he was still trying to market the 24-foot boat for months after he had sold it for £8,000 less than the asking price and used the money to prop up his failing business.

He told the woman owner the boat was safely out of the water at his yard at Totnes, Devon, when he had delivered it in person to a buyer in Southern Spain after receiving £35,000 for it.

His business finally went into liquidation last September and just days afterwards he admitted the swindle for the first time.

Webster, 54, of Braddons Hill Road, Torquay, was jailed for 12 months at Exeter Crown Court.
 
jerrytug said:
She still owns the boat, the buyer of the boat loses it, I believe. Caveat emptor isn't it?
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" to a buyer in Southern Spain after receiving £35,000 for it. "

I wonder, if it's been bought by a local if that will make it more difficult for the lady to get her boat back..legal actions in Spain have a habit of going round the houses for years I understand.
 
"A crooked yacht broker in Britain has been jailed for swindling a seller out of her £43,000 luxury cruising boat.

Christopher Webster told the seller he was still trying to market the 24-foot boat for months after he had sold it for £8,000 less than the asking price and used the money to prop up his failing business.

He told the woman owner the boat was safely out of the water at his yard at Totnes, Devon, when he had delivered it in person to a buyer in Southern Spain after receiving £35,000 for it. "

Its always a luxury boat!

What sort of 24 ft boat would have a price tag of £43K?
 
Downsman said:
" to a buyer in Southern Spain after receiving £35,000 for it. "

I wonder, if it's been bought by a local if that will make it more difficult for the lady to get her boat back..legal actions in Spain have a habit of going round the houses for years I understand.
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In certain countries eg France if a buyer buys it in good faith, it remains his and so the seller can only have recourse against the broker.
 
galadriel said:
"A crooked yacht broker in Britain has been jailed for swindling a seller out of her £43,000 luxury cruising boat.

Christopher Webster told the seller he was still trying to market the 24-foot boat for months after he had sold it for £8,000 less than the asking price and used the money to prop up his failing business.

He told the woman owner the boat was safely out of the water at his yard at Totnes, Devon, when he had delivered it in person to a buyer in Southern Spain after receiving £35,000 for it. "

Its always a luxury boat!

What sort of 24 ft boat would have a price tag of £43K?
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there is a Crabber ??? in our marina for north of £57k all 22 ft of it
 
galadriel said:
What sort of 24 ft boat would have a price tag of £43K?
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It was a power boat - and fairly new if I remember correctly.

Anyway this is all old news - the court case was last year and was well publicised at the time, including a long thread here.
 
Sybarite said:
In certain countries eg France if a buyer buys it in good faith, it remains his and so the seller can only have recourse against the broker.
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Not sure if this is relevant in this case. If the boat was sold in England, English law will apply and the fact that the boat was taken to Spain will only make recovery more time consuming, it will not alter the fact that the sale was subject to English law.
If the boat was taken to Spain to market it and the sale was contracted in Spain it will be subject to Spanish law unless the contract specifically refers to a different jurisdiction to which it is subject.
 
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