Halesowen couple in £100,000 wedding scam fully deserve jail sentences, judges rule
A Halesowen couple jailed over a fraud which saw brides-to-be conned out of thousands of pounds have been told by top judges they deserved to be locked up even though their children will be left without a parent.
Company boss Lisa Holt, aged 41, cheated customers out of cash for cakes and other wedding services which never materialised.
Between May 2014 and August 2015 her Halesowen-based firm, Bake A Cake Catering, had more than 700 victims and some brides had to cancel their weddings.
The majority of customers had booked weddings, but others were using the company for birthdays and there was also a funeral.
Mrs Holt’s fraud totalled £104,000 – almost half of which was via the online site Wowcher, through which she ‘sold’ services including a chocolate fountain and photo booths. When customers didn’t get what they ordered, Wowcher had to compensate them to the tune of £46,000.
She fobbed her victims off with a string of excuses when they complained, including that her husband had almost died during an operation, that she had been the victim of arson and that she had been burgled.
Her husband, 42-year-old Ryan Holt, helped her launder her ill-gotten gains.
The pair, of Albert Road, Halesowen, were jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court in January, with Mrs Holt receiving three years and her husband nine months. She admitted three counts of fraud, while Mr Holt admitted converting criminal property.
The couple tried to have their sentences cut, with their lawyers arguing they were far too tough.
Mr Holt’s legal team said the crown court judge didn’t take enough account of the fact he would be depriving the couple’s children of both their parents and should have suspended his jail term.
His wife’s lawyers accepted it was ‘inevitable’ she would be imprisoned, but said her sentence should have been shorter.
But both appeals were rejected by three of the country’s most senior judges.
Dismissing Mr Holt’s case, Mr Justice Green said: “The judge reduced his sentence substantially to take account of the position of the children. But it is evident there is no absolute duty upon a court to suspend a sentence, simply because children are involved.”
Sitting with Lady Justice Thirlwall and Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, he also rejected his wife’s appeal, adding: “This was widespread fraud, perpetrated upon hundreds of victims, some of whom were vulnerable.“It was a policy applied aggressively and without sympathy for those affected.”
