A crooked businessman’s brazen attempt to borrow

A crooked businessman’s brazen attempt to borrow pnds stlng
650,000 from show business financiers by using a bag of low-grade
gems as security has ended in jail.

Undischarged bankrupt George Von Engel, 44, surrounded himself with
the trappings of success in a bid to woo ‘greedy’ businessmen into
lending him the cash.

Jailing him for three years, Judge John Hugill QC remarked: ‘You
are a very persuasive man, well able to project charm and conviction
– conviction on matters on which you did not believe.

‘I form the view that in the finance sense you are a very dangerous
and unscrupulous individual.

‘
Von Engel, who has been jailed twice in Germany for fraud and has
been interviewed before by British detectives over his business
dealings, did not react as he was sentenced.

He had told financiers he was trying to raise the cash to fund a
West End musical and a television series and offered gems valued at
pnds stlng 1.

2 million as security.

But the gems were actually worth a fraction of that amount – as many
Hatton Garden jewellers and a top German gemologist pointed out to
Von Engel.

He was undeterred and resumed his attempt to sell the gems.

He was finally brought to book when an ‘interested party’ at one
meeting revealed himself as an undercover detective who had secretly
taped the conversation.

In court, Von Engel denied attempting to obtain property by
deception but was convicted by an Old Bailey jury just before
Christmas.

Sentence was adjourned because he claimed he had never spent time
behind bars.

Interpol records were gathered to confirm that he had
twice been jailed for fraud in Germany.

Mr Daniel Hollis, QC, defending, said his client ‘had been totally
disbelieved on just about everything apart from possibly his name.

‘
It was revealed Von Engel had changed his name after his
London-based car importing business came under close fraud squad
scrutiny in 1981.

Judge Hugill said he gave the defendant credit for targeting the
‘wealthy and gullible’ rather than the poor and needy.

‘The only mistake you made was the scheme did not sufficiently
appeal to the greedy.

‘
Von Engel, from Ware Road, Hoddesdon, Herts, impassively for
several seconds after the sentence was passed.

The pretty blonde who had kissed him goodbye after driving him to
court in a sporty black VW car each day during his trial was not in
the public gallery to see him finally jailed.

ENDS