A CONMAN who left businesses on the verge of bankruptcy and people penniless and homeless was branded “dangerous and devious” as he was jailed for seven years.

Alan Willis was told at Teesside Crown Court that he had left in his wake a trail of disasters in County Durham, Nottingham and Liverpool with his “callous” crimes.

Willis’s barrister claimed he was an honest businessman who wanted to make money for himself and those he dealt with, and he continues to maintain his innocence.

The 58-year-old was found guilty of 23 charges of fraud, using a false instrument and perverting the course of justice after a lengthy trial which ended last year.

He was sentenced by Judge Tony Briggs who told him: “It is quite clear you are a dangerous fraudster – manipulative, devious and on the evidence if this case, callous.

“Your previous convictions show you are ready and willing to engage in fraudulent conduct, and when one looks at this catalogue of offending, it is quite clear you have been at it again. You have caused very considerable misery, distress and upset to your victims.”

Willis started his frauds in County Durham as he looked to renovate pubs in Peterlee and nearby Seaham – engaging contractors and then not paying them, said prosecutor Paul Newcombe.

He claimed he had a lengthy history of success and was backed by a significant organisation, and impressed the bosses of local building and electrical companies as well as the company which owned the pubs.

One firm was owed £80,000 and a director said: “We were brought to the brink of bankruptcy. This was the worst effect on the business since the recession.”

A handy-man at one of the pubs was convinced by Willis to invest his life-savings into a venture with the promise of a “great return” – and he lost it all.

In total, individuals and businesses in the North-East lost £190,000, and after Willis was tracked down, arrested and charged, he had his assets frozen, but went on to fleece more people elsewhere.

Will Byrne, mitigating, said Willis, of Clarendon Road, Middlesbrough, “tried at every turn to make a success out of matters”.

He added: “His motives were that of an ambitious, industrious, hard-working businessman, who on each and every occasion hoped for the ventures to work.

“If his hopes had been followed through on, we would not be here today. This man would not be viewed as a fraudster, he would be viewed as a very competent and wise business person.”