A court has learned that a serial fraudster who was sentenced in the UK after defrauding his ex-girlfriend of £300,000 has been freed from a Spanish prison.
After being released from a term of almost six years for defrauding Carolyn Woods of Gloucestershire out of her life savings, Mark Acklom was extradited to Spain two years ago.
In 2016, midway through a three-year sentence, he had already left Spain.
The British man was located in Switzerland and returned to his country of origin.
However, it has since been revealed to a UK court that the 50-year-old was released from a Spanish prison after spending an additional two years.
There have been several sessions at Bristol Crown Court over the past four years to determine how much money Acklom gained from his crimes and his assets in relation to the fraud against Ms. Woods, which started in 2012.
The Proceeds of Crime Act has been used by the prosecution to attempt to recoup the funds taken from his ex-girlfriend.
Acklom pretended to be an MI6 spy and Swiss financier while dating Ms. Woods.
He asserted that he knew fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, was friends with celebrities Nicky Clarke and Chris Evans, and was involved in MI6 missions. He also claimed to have communicated with Hillary Clinton.
Acklom received a four-year prison sentence in 1991 for committing a £466,000 mortgage scam while pretending to be a City stockbroker. He was 16 years old at the time.
He allegedly used his father’s credit card to make purchases totaling £11,000, conned a former teacher out of £13,000, and racked up a £34,000 account with a charter-jet firm.
A four-day hearing to assess his financial responsibility in connection with Ms. Woods’ romantic fraud was scheduled to take place in November, but it has been postponed owing to the judge’s unavailability and will now take place in 2019.
The court was informed that Acklom’s solicitors had filed fresh motions with the court alleging abuse of the legal system; the Crown will have time to respond.
The prosecutor, John Hardy KC, told the court that he was pleased with the decision to push back the entire hearing until 2024.
Reading between the lines, Mr. Hardy remarked, “I understand Acklom has been released from his Spanish detention. We do not anticipate that he will seek to attend the hearing in person, but he may try to attend remotely.”
Judge Martin Picton set a four-day administrative hearing that would commence on April 16, 2024, for the 10th of November.
There was no information provided regarding Mr. Acklom’s whereabouts, despite the fact that his wife and two children reside in Spain.