An eight-strong gang of crooks who raked in half a million pounds by posing as legal advisers expert in preparing wills and trust deeds has been successfully prosecuted by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Trading Standards team. The fraudsters used addresses in London but operated from rented premises in Newark. Ringleader Joseph Croft, 53, was jailed for four and a half years at Nottingham Crown Court, while Alan Appleyard, 71, and his son Matthew, 42, will both serve four years. Joy Bell, 55, who described herself as ‘head of legal’ but has no qualifications, was given an 18-month suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service. Paul Fox, 58, and Paul Gorman, 56, were each given 200 hours of community service and a four-month suspended sentence. Adam Nichols, 46, and Adrian Large, 51, were also each given 200 hours of community service and three-month suspended sentences. I warned in March last year that their company Goldstar Law Limited was not a legal firm at all, but a sales operation, and I revealed the Appleyards’ links to a similar firm that was wound up by the High Court in 2011.............Read more here