Ipswich man accused of car loan scam

Barry Lawrence, from Ipswich, is on trial accused of stealing two Range Rovers worth £100,000. The allegation against Lawrence is that he was part of a scam to sign car loan agreements for the two vehicles, which were later sold to unsuspecting buyers by someone else. Lawrences defence is that he had been "a big fool" but had not intended to be dishonest. The court heard evidence from a couple who bought one of the Range Rovers in a part exchange deal on eBay. They were on holiday at the time of the purchase and were arrested on suspicion of theft when they arrived back in the UK. Prosecutor Steven Dyble said false information was entered on the car loan agreements including the fact that Lawrence was a home owner and a construction manager. He is in fact a rail work who lives in a council house. Lawrences defence is that he was tricked into the scam by another man, who offered him £5,000 to obtain a £25,000 car loan for two company cars. He claimed he had driven the vehicles to the businessmans house and left them there in the belief they were going to be company cars.