A conman who splashed millions on supercars and luxury rental properties by selling homes without the knowledge of their owners faces a long prison sentence. Anopkumar Maudhoo, 46, tricked 45 victims out of more than £8.5million, fleecing some of their life-savings in one of the UK’s biggest property scams – described by police as ‘a vast, complex and highly organised scheme’.
Maudhoo, an illegal immigrant who went by a number of aliases, spent his millions on 19 fast cars, a £97,000 speedboat, and luxury rentals in Hertfordshire, Wapping, and Knightsbridge. The grifter also tried to buy a superyacht called ‘Mistaken Identity’, which he planned to moor in St Katherine’s Dock below his posh East London flat.
At Southwark Crown Court on Thursday (August 28), victims called Maudhoo’s fraud a ‘cruel and calculated act of deception’, causing a ‘deep sense of betrayal’ and ‘shame’. One elderly victim even claimed the stress and anxiety contributed to his stroke. “The scam did not just rob me of my life savings, it stole my sense of stability and future for my family,” added another victim.
Prosecutors believe Maudhoo – who appeared emotionless in the dock wearing a grey prison tracksuit with heavily tattooed forearms – was born in Mauritius in 1979 and goes by a series of fake identities, including Vincent Lebouf (his preferred name), Pascal Burns, Vincent Collin, Yusef Khan, Hamid Khan, Hamid Collin, and Vicenzo Conte.
The Home Office ordered Maudhoo’s deportation in 2010, when he was convicted for using a fake identity on immigration paperwork, but by 2016 he was still in the UK and wanted by authorities after removing his tag and failing to notify police of his location.
The court heard Maudhoo has previous convictions for fraud, ID, and handling stolen goods offences going back more than a decade. In 2010 he was caught stealing deposits from prospective tenants by advertising flats on Gumtree through a company he had set up with a fake identity, then writing refunds with a stolen chequebook that caused the payments to bounce.
“He has a history of organised defrauding of people in a sophisticated way,” said prosecutor Simon Wilshire KC. For his latest fraud spree, Maudhoo’s main modus operandi involved snaring would-be buyers by pretending he had access to properties on the verge of repossession at well below market value.
In fact, none had been repossessed, or were even for sale – they were either rentals advertised on websites like Zoopla, or still occupied by the real owners.
Maudhoo’s second MO involved telling multiple victims to invest in heavily discounted properties from a liquidator, offering them a 15-20 per cent return on their investment when they were sold at market value. Again, the homes were not Maudhoo’s to sell.
When buyers asked why they could not see properties in person, or have full access to legal documents, Maudhoo would make up excuses, citing confidentiality or blaming any delays on the bank.
Some homeowners only realised their property had been used in a scam when complete strangers turned up on their doorstep declaring they had paid for the property.
‘One can only imagine the surprise’
This week the court heard how Maudhoo posed as Vincent Lebeouf of Bluebell Associates Limited and offered victims the chance to buy properties at a substantial discount before they were repossessed. Maudhoo simultaneously posed as a solicitor called Yusuf Khan of Taylor Rose (a real legal firm who had nothing to do with the scam), convincing sellers their sale would be dealt with by a reputable lawyer.
Using charm, the good reputation of a real law firm, and some pressure for a quick sale, Maudhoo tricked victims into handing over thousands of pounds in deposits, and hundreds of thousands of pounds for full purchases.
One victim invited a friend to invest in a £1.9million property on Eaton Terrace in Belgravia – Maudhoo claimed it was down from £5million due to an imminent repossession order. Each man lost more than £685,000 to the purchase after agreeing to put in £950,000 each.
Other victims who drew money from pooled family savings, borrowed money, or asked loved ones to get involved, described ‘rifts’ and the ‘ripple and domino effect’ of bringing in friends and family to the fraudulent deals.
Using a near identical method, Maudhoo tricked a husband and wife into buying homes in Bromley, telling them their payment had gone into his WellBuilds Properties Limited bank account as part of a money protection scheme.
The fraud only unravelled when the buyer’s wife attended their new home to find it was occupied by the real owner. “One can only imagine the surprise of [the homeowner] in the house he owned and paying the mortgage every month,” said Mr Wilshire.
Fake law firm, 5 Aston Martins, and a Portuguese license
The prosecution say Maudhoo spent his earnings on an ‘extravagant lifestyle’, with car purchases that included five Aston Martins worth more than £1.2million, two Bentleys totalling £443,000, two Lamborghinis for £873,000, a Porsche, and a Rolls Royce.
At the time of his arrest he was renting a £6,500-a-month house in Radlett, which he was preparing to purchase for £3million, plus a £6,000-a-month flat in Park Vista Towers overlooking the River Thames.
Maudhoo also rented a £2,500-a-month office space in Knightsbridge for a fake law firm, Pascal Law Limited, which was registered under his alias Pascal Burns. On September 2, 2024, Maudhoo handed over a fake Portuguese driving license when stopped by police for an insurance check in one of his Lamborghinis – for this he was later charged with perverting the course of justice.
But Maudhoo’s downfall came a few weeks later on September 24, when raiding police officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) discovered ‘expensive retail items’, £14,000 in cash, and 14 false identity documents, including French driving licenses and an Irish passport.
After appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 28, Maudhoo was remanded into custody. He then appeared at Southwark Crown Court in June this year, where he admitted 31 offences, with a total loss of £2,296,000. They are:
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Counts 1 to 14 – fraud by false representation with 6 victims
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Counts 15-18 – possession of false identity documents
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Count 19 – perverting the course of justice
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Counts 20-21 – possession of articles for use in fraud
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Counts 22-31 – possession of documents with improper intention
Maudhoo also admitted two schedules of ‘Offences to be taken into consideration’, or TICs (when a defendant admits other offences that have not been charged to ‘wipe the slate clean’ and avoid further prosecution)
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TIC schedule 1 – 44 incidents, 30 victims, £6,432,000
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TIC schedule 2 – 9 victims, £174,000
Mr Wilshire said the offences were aggravated by Maudhoo’s lack of remorse, demonstrated in a text exchange on an illegal phone confiscated from him in prison. The Crown also intends to pursue Maudhoo’s assets through Proceeds of Crime Act legislation.
‘He’s not a completely changed character’
Defence counsel John Ojakovah said Maudhoo wanted to apologise to all the victims in the court.
But asked by Recorder Zayne Malik KC whether his client had actually shown remorse, Mr Ojakovah said: “I’m not standing before the court and saying Mr Lebouf is remorseless. Actions speak louder, he has admitted fully his wrong doing… I’m not putting him forward as a completely changed character.”
Maudhoo’s imprisonment will mean leaving behind his children and wife, who he has been married to for 14 years, said Mr Ojakovah, ‘albeit brought down upon them by Mr Lebouf’s offending’.
Maudhoo has also put his ‘considerable talents’ to use by helping other prisoners to read and write, added the barrister.
Maudhoo will be sentenced by Recorder Malik on Friday afternoon (August 29).
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