By Staff Reporter

Last updated at 09:22, Saturday, 26 November 2011

A loan shark who made at least £36,000 from the illegal money-lending business he ran in west Cumbria has avoided jail.

Paul Richard Gilpin, 39, who was instead given a suspended prison sentence, ran his business for nearly eight years, netting about £100 a week on top of his regular wages from his job in the construction industry.

Although it wasn’t enough to pay for a “lavish lifestyle”, Carlisle Crown Court heard yesterday, it did help him buy two houses. And he could be facing a huge bill under the Proceeds of Crime Act when further action is taken against him next year.

Gilpin was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 250 hours unpaid community work after he pleaded guilty to carrying on a consumer credit business without the necessary licence and laundering the money he made from it.

Prosecutor Simon Mortimer told the court that Gilpin, of Thornaby Road, Egremont, had more than 40 customers, to whom he lent relatively small amounts of money, usually for short periods of time.

He said he had begun lending money about 10 years ago, and only later became aware that he was supposed to have a licence.

But Gilpin decided it was not worth paying the several thousand pounds needed for such a licence, so continued lending the money anyway, Mr Mortimer said.

Mr Mortimer said there was no suggestion that Gilpin had used violence or done more than sometimes shout at his customers to get the money paid.

In mitigation defence barrister Greg Hoare said that what Gilpin did was low on the scale of loan shark activities.

First published at 09:00, Saturday, 26 November 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk