A MAN allowed nearly £100,000 to be laundered through his bank account as part of a rising national scam, a court heard.

Jonathan O'Brien handed over his bank cards and account details to a man who he had met on a night out in a pub in Manchester for a fee of £2,000.

Burnley Crown Court was told those account details were used to con victim Derek Pye out of around £100,000 he thought he was paying for a flat for his daughter.

Although O'Brien, of Dall Street, Burnley, denied any knowledge of what his account was being used for, Judge Beverley Lunt said his ignorance was no excuse and said he was 'closer than anyone in court that day of going to jail'.

Prosecuting, Paul Cummings said that O'Brien had met a man called Jay Khan in a pub in Manchester and agreed to hand over the cards and account details to his personal and business accounts for £2,000.

And in October O'Brien's account details were listed as a payment account on a fraudulent email sent to Mr Pye claiming to be from Conrad Hill Conveyancing. The court heard that fraudsters had hacked in to the firm's email account and sent the payment demand to Mr Pye, who thought it was a genuine correspondence.

It was only the following month when Mr Pye contacted the conveyancing firm to check the progress of the transaction that he realised he had been conned and contacted the police.

Mr Cummings said: "It was discovered then that the money had gone in to the bank account of the defendant's cleaning business 'Pro CLeaning Services'.

"When they examined the account they found that £7,500 was moved to the defendant's personal account and a further £10,000 was transferred in to the account of a second man.

"When the bank was made aware of what had gone on the account was frozen and £60,000 was recovered. Forty thousand pounds in total had gone from the account and has still not been recovered.

"The defendant accepted when pressed that he knew this was a wholly suspect arrangement."

Mr Cummings said the money had been spent in London.

The court heard that O'Brien had no previous convictions for dishonesty but had been convicted for battery,

Defending, Philip Holden, defending, said his client knew nothing about the overall conspiracy. He also said when his client was properly engaged he finds regular work on building sites.

O'Brien admitted to one count f concealing criminal property and was given 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He must also pay a victim surcharge.

Judge Lunt said: "This is a fairly well-used scam. People are hacking solicitors and conveyancing accounts and taking thousands of pounds from them.

"It's because of people like you that they're getting away with it. There has to be a deterrent.

"You are a family man and have responsibilities. I am prepared to give you a chance and suspend your sentence."