A former actor from the popular TV show Brookside has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for orchestrating a £13.6 million fraud scheme that targeted aspiring models. Philip Foster, who portrayed Christian Wright on the Liverpool soap opera, operated a network of fake modeling agencies for over eight years. The sentencing took place at Sheffield Crown Court, where eight other individuals involved in the fraud also received prison terms.
More than 6,000 victims fell prey to the scam, believing they would secure paid modeling jobs through Foster’s agencies. Despite claiming a Liverpool address, Foster actually operated from Spain, using associates in England to run fraudulent modeling agencies and photography studios in various cities across the UK. The National Trading Standards (NTS) conducted a six-year investigation that ultimately exposed the deceitful operation.
The victims were lured in through emails and social media advertising, tricking them into believing they had modeling potential. They were then led to pay for portfolios of images with promises of future modeling opportunities, using credit deals or payday loans to cover the upfront costs. However, the digital photographs provided were of poor quality, leaving the victims without any genuine modeling work.
The fraudulent agencies avoided paying taxes, continually changing names to avoid detection. Funds from the scam were laundered through UK bank accounts before being transferred to Spain or carried in cash on commercial flights by conspirators. Foster and his accomplices were able to live luxuriously off the ill-gotten gains, while their victims faced financial ruin and emotional distress. Parents who invested in their children’s modeling careers found themselves deeply betrayed, while victims suffered long-term damage to their confidence and trust in others
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