Borehamwood fraudster jailed for posing as solicitor
Trio sentenced for scamming business owner out of £77,000
Last updated 27th Mar 2026
A man has been sentenced to over two years in prison for committing fraud by posing as a solicitor and charging a business owner more than £70,000.
The victim, who co-owned a business in Borehamwood, sought legal advice in 2020 to buy out her partner.
She was introduced to Leslie Okoro, who pretended to be a solicitor under the alias Jeremy Cohen, through her client Katherine Marquart. Okoro was Marquart’s partner and was not a qualified solicitor.
The victim paid approximately £77,000 to Okoro via an intermediary bank account managed by Andrew Lungay. Lungay then distributed the money across various accounts belonging to Okoro while retaining a portion for himself.
Suspicion arose as the proceedings stalled and the business agreement remained unfulfilled, prompting the victim to report Okoro to the authorities.
Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit initiated an investigation, culminating in the arrest of Okoro, Marquart, and Lungay in December 2020.
The three individuals appeared at St Albans Crown Court, where they pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Leslie Okoro, aged 49, from Walton Terrace, Elstree, received a sentence of two years and six months.
Andrew Lungay, aged 45, from Barrow Lane, Bedford, was sentenced to two years (suspended for two years) with an additional requirement to complete 50 hours of unpaid work.
Katherine Marquart, aged 44, from Grayling Grove, Hemel Hempstead, was sentenced to 21 months (suspended for two years) and ordered to undertake 250 hours of unpaid work.
Investigator Charlotte Hartley from Hatfield Crime Investigation Department commented on the case, saying:
“Okoro, Marquart and Lungay took advantage of the victim’s situation and scammed them out of tens of thousands of pounds and no doubt did significant damage to the business. We will continue to progress this case and use Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover the victim’s lost funds from the offenders’ assets.”