'King of Marbella' stole hundreds of thousands in asset-stripping fraud and spent cash on private helicopters and a £30,000 PALM TREE

A fraudster who called himself 'King of Marbella' has been jailed for four and a half years for committing an elaborate £700,000 bank fraud.
John Disley, 46, bought failing businesses to set up bogus bank accounts and withdrew cash from cheques just before they bounced.
He used the stolen money from the Royal Bank of Scotland to fund a lavish lifestyle which included spending £30,000 on a palm tree at his Spanish villa.

Jonathan Disley (pictured left) claimed to socialise with Eastenders stars Barbara Windsor and Dean Gaffney (pictured right). the fraudster lived a millionaire's lifestyle despite being bankrupt

Jonathan Disley (pictured right) was the 'dirivng force' behind the crime. His assistant Victoria Quinn, 40, was described as Disley's right-hand woman, was described as a 'thoroughly dishonest woman' was jailed for two years for her part in the scam

The former nightclub bouncer from Hertfordshire was described as 'arrogant' today by Judge Heather Llyod as he was sentenced.
He boasted about socialising with Eastenders stars Dean Gaffney and Barbara Windsor and travelled in a helicopter.
The money was electronically transferred to a number of accounts linked to Disley while the cheques were valid, Preston Crown Court heard.

Among the payments made were £40,000 to Wayne Lineker, brother of former England footballer and Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker.
The court heard that Disney claimed he was 'restructuring' the businesses but instead he stripped them of their assets and used them to withdraw cash through fraudulent cheques.
Convinced that the scam would not be traced back to him, Disney told detectives that he was 'more worried about it snowing'.
Disley lived a Champagne lifestyle but in reality he was bankrupt.
He was found guilty last month of conspiracy to defraud £675,937 from the Royal Bank of Scotland and £214,000 from a financial services company between May and December 2010.
Sentencing him, Judge Heather Lloyd told him: 'Your arrogance was apparent when arrested. You did not think for one moment that the prosecution would succeed.

Disley rented a £2million house with an indoor swimming pool, games room, cinema and tennis court. Custom tiles on the floor of the pool spell out 'DISLEY'

Disley splashed out on a £2million yacht, named Dawn Star (right) which was moored in London's Chelsea Harbour. He operated out of an office in Much Hoole, Lancashire (left).

Disley was described in court as arrogant and greedy. He was said to have been convinced that he would not be caught for the crime

'You gave other people scripts to follow but the evidence against you was overwhelming and the jury saw right through you.'
Jonathan Stowell, 41, of Bolton, and Stuart Hegarty, 44, of Nottingham, were convicted of the same charge after the seven-week trial.
Disley's 'right-hand woman' and personal assistant, Victoria Quinn, 40, from Accrington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud last October.
Hegarty, of Helston Drive, was jailed for 12 months, Stowell was sentenced to 15 months while Quinn will spend two years in prison.
The judge said each had played their part in the 'significant' fraud but Disley was the 'driving force'.
'Somehow you knew about commercially sensitive banking information which you used to your advantage,' she said.
'I have no doubt greed was the motivating factor.'
She said Disley's tactics were to hide behind others and keep a distance from the sham businesses but she was satisfited he could be 'intimidating when crossed'.

Disley drove to meetings in a Bentley Continental when he wasn't using a helicopter (file photo)

Stowell would help him find the businesses to buy and exploit, while Hegarty knowingly paid in cheques from an account which had been closed for some time.
Royal Bank of Scotland bank manager Russell Alker, 39, of Preston, Lancashire, who worked at a branch in Wigan, was alleged to be an "inside man" but was cleared by the jury of any involvement in the fraud.
Matthew Lawson, defending Disley, said he hoped he could return to being 'a useful employer and a useful contributor to the business community'.
Disley was disqualified from being a company director for eight years.
The convictions follow a two-year investigation by Lancashire Constabulary's Financial Investigation Department during which inquiries were carried out across the country.
Following sentencing, Detective Constable Keith Allen said: 'Disley believed he was above the law.
He portrayed himself as a legitimate multi-millionaire businessman when in fact he was a bankrupt who made his living by asset-stripping companies, which were in financial difficulty.
'It's not right that criminals like Disley should live beyond their means, essentially at the cost of law-abiding members of the community.'

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