Jail term for cruel £92,000 Telford loan shark shows behaviour 'will not be tolerated', leader says
A jail term for a loan shark who intimidated and "humiliated" borrowers shows such illegal activity "will not be tolerated", a leader has said.
Alvin Hutchinson was sent to prison for 28 months after admitting charges of "carrying on a regulated activity when not an authorised person" and "an attempt to conceal criminal property", when he appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
The 53-year-old, of Hartley Close, The Rock, Telford, had been illegally lending money between January 2015 and May 2019, and made at least £92,800 from his victims.
The jail sentence handed down to Hutchinson serves as a warning to other potential criminals, according to Tony Quigley, head of the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), which investigates loan sharks.
He said: “This sentence sends a message that illegal money lending will not be tolerated in our communities. Illegal money lending destroys people’s lives, and we will continue our fight to stop these unscrupulous criminals.
“We would like to thank the borrowers for coming forward and we would urge anyone who thinks they have been targeted in this way to contact us in confidence for help and support.”
