A PERSISTENT fraudster who bought cars but failed to pay for them in a £200,000 sting has been jailed.

Nicholas Burke didn’t even stop conning his victims out of expensive vehicles when he was arrested on three different occasions by police, Burnley Crown Court was told.

The 27-year-old, who had more than 20 victims including people from Blackburn, Burnley and Rossendale, would approach potential sellers via the motor trade press.

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Prosecutors say he would secure delivery of the vehicle, promise that a bank transfer was in progress to cover the price, then fail to deliver the money.

The cars would then be sold on to unwitting purchasers.

One unlucky customer was pulled over by police and arrested and interviewed after being caught in a vehicle which had been sold to him by Burke.

Jailing him for 32 months, Judge Beverley Lunt told him he had carried out the frauds to keep a good lifestyle.

She said a probation officer believed that he had also enjoyed the thrill of ‘getting away with it’.

“Your criminal behaviour was notified by nothing other than greed,” added Judge Lunt.

Burke had claimed that he had been forced into the fraud by an unnamed person who he was said to have owed money to, and had threatened his family’s safety.

But Judge Lunt said that if that was the case then it was clear he would have sought police assistance after his first arrest and dismissed any suggestion he had been coerced.

Several of the cars’ owners are now said to be in litigation over who actually owns a number of vehicles, involved in the defendant’s scam.

Burke, of Parrock Parade, Crawshawbooth, admitted to 26 charges of theft and fraud related offences, committed between February 2014 and May 2015.

The court heard that the total value of the cars sold on by Burke was £137,000. He also attempted to buy a Range Rover and Audi A4, worth more than £41,000 before the sellers became suspicious. His victims were left £24,000 out of pocket, the court heard.

One of the victims was Tracey Guest, from Blackburn, who saw a BMW 320 convertible, worth £17,995, stolen on April 14.

Mark Stuart, defending, said that the defendant’s methods were ‘unsophisticated’ and Burke was almost inevitably going to be caught carrying out the fraud.

Speaking after the case, Pc Sarah Whittaker said: “I am pleased with the sentence handed to Burke after a lengthy and protracted investigation which saw over 20 victims.

“Burke left a lot of people out of money, in particular one of his victims who almost lost her job as she had no car to travel in.

“Hopefully today’s result will give the victims some closure so that they can start to move on with their lives.”