Persistent and Callous 77-year-old man gambles away vulnerable victims’ life savings and is now ordered to pay back over £500,000 to his victims

On Friday the 31^st of January, Peter Holbrook appeared before His Honour Judge Jonathan Gibson at Bradford Crown Court, who made an order that Holbrook pay compensation to his victims within three months, though that timetable could be extended by a further three months if appropriate. If Peter Holbrook fails to pay the agreed amount of £502,459.91, he will have a further five years custodial sentence added to his existing sentence.

Holbrook, aged 77, who purported to be a financial advisor, had previously admitted to defrauding vulnerable clients of over £1 million pounds at his sentencing hearing at Bradford Crown Court in September 2023 and received a 5-year 3-month custodial sentence for offences under the Fraud Act 2006.

Holbrook of Oxenhope, Keighley was investigated by West Yorkshire Trading Standards and was originally brought before the courts in March 2023. Holbrook then appeared at Bradford Crown Court in June 2023, whereby he pleaded guilty to seven out of the eight counts on the indictment.

This agreed amount, once paid back by Peter Holbrook, will then be paid out in compensation to the victims and their families, some of the victims have since sadly passed away. Peter Holbrook was a persistent gambler and used his vulnerable victims’ savings and investments for his own gain, which he then gambled away using online sites.

His offending began in 2011 and continued until Trading Standards began a criminal investigation into Holbrook’s conduct and his financial affairs. He continued his offending during the pandemic when his victims were at their most vulnerable and isolated from their family and friends; he befriended his victims, won over their trust and then committed fraud offences against them.

The victims’ families have described the anguish and anxiety they have suffered, not only due to their loved ones passing away, but then to discover that their hard-earned savings had been squandered away by Holbrook. All witnesses provided victim impact statements for the original sentencing in September 2023 which were read out at court.

After the court hearing on the 31^st of January, Holbrook was returned to prison to continue his existing prison sentence.

Trading Standards will continue its communication with the various gambling companies involved in order to recover some of the victims’ funds that Holbrook used for his own gain. 

Councillor Melanie Jones, Chair of the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee which oversees the work of Trading Standards said, ‘Fortunately, cases like this are rare. Peter Holbrook preyed on vulnerable people, often during times of grieving following family bereavements, offering to help with probate and other investments, taking advantage of the position of trust he had created.  He took victims’ money and used it for his own benefit. Now that the confiscation hearing has been brought before the courts, and the sum of £502,459.91 has been ordered to be repaid , I would like to thank all concerned, in particular the victims and families for their co-operation during the investigation conducted successively by West Yorkshire Trading Standards.’

Linda Davis, Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards (Protecting Communities) said ‘This was a substantial fraud, with many victims losing their life savings to someone they trusted with their money.  Holbrook built relationships with them to enable him to persuade them to let him manage their financial affairs, whilst all the time using their money to fund his gambling habit.  The confiscation hearing today under the Proceeds of Crime Act, reflects the severity of his offending and the impact on victims, and the huge fraudulent amount of monies gained by Holbrook. This is a successful conclusion to what has been a complex investigation to bring to the courts. We hope that this confiscation order that HRH Judge Gibson agreed in court will bring some closure to our victims and their families.’