Man jailed for £2m jewellery fraud
James Charles, 49, from Southwick, targeted 31 victims through multiple company scams
Last updated 21 hours ago
A Southwick man has been jailed for 12 years after running an extensive fraud operation through his companies.
The owner of Olympia Mayfair, and National Gold Buyers, James Charles, also known as James Goatley, scammed numerous victims out of over £1.2 million between August 2022 and 2024.
The 49-year-old conned his victims by posing his company Olympia Mayfair as an established specialist service for reselling and repairing high-value jewellery, watches, and precious metals.
Visitors to the firm's website were encouraged to complete a pre-service questionnaire which required them to detail the valuable items they were looking to resell or have repaired.
Charles then contacted the victims and arranged to meet them, where he would manipulate them into handing over their items under the guise of an understanding that they would be reimbursed once the items were sold or repaired with Charles taking only a small fee as commission.
Following dozens of reports of Charles' fraudulent business model, he was arrested on 11 February 2024 and later bailed as investigations continued.
Charles then set up a new company, National Gold Buyers, to defraud further victims.
He was arrested again on 30 August 2024.
Charles was charged with 24 counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of money laundering.
The charges were subsequently amalgamated into four counts of fraudulent trading following further legal hearings.
On 12 October, he pleaded guilty, and the following day Charles was also convicted of the same offences by the jury.
James Charles 49, of Roman Crescent, Southwick, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on 12 November and was jailed for 12 years.
Detective Constable Graham Gray, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "The scale of harm Charles has caused to numerous victims cannot be understated.
"Charles' crimes were premeditated, prolific and unremorseful, taking the opportunity to continue offending through multiple new companies as soon as he was able.
"His victims have suffered not just a financial loss, but a devastating emotional impact as a result of his manipulation.
"Today's sentencing reflects the expanse and severity of Charles' offending and the significant impact on his victims."