Mark Acklom, a notorious fraudster, is back in court as attempts to recover £300,000 from his ex-girlfriend continue following his prison sentence for fraud.
Gloucestershire: A notorious British romance fraudster is back in court. Mark Acklom, 51, conned his ex-girlfriend out of £300,000. He was jailed in 2019 for his crimes.
Acklom pretended to be a Swiss banker and an MI6 agent during his relationship with Carolyn Woods. Now, he faces efforts to pay back the money he took from her life savings.
This isn’t Acklom’s first run-in with the law. He has a long history of fraud, starting at just 16. He was sentenced for a £466,000 mortgage fraud and has committed various other scams.
After fleeing to Spain in 2016, he was extradited back to the UK in 2019. He served time in prison and was released in 2023. Now, he lives in Spain with his wife and two kids.
On January 29, Acklom appeared in Bristol Crown Court via audio link. His legal team argued that the judge who sentenced him should be removed from the case due to alleged bias.
Prosecutors are using the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the money Acklom stole. There have been several hearings to determine his criminal benefits and available assets.
During the hearing, Acklom’s lawyer claimed the judge was biased and should step down. However, the judge disagreed and extended the case for six more months.
Acklom’s past includes fleeing during a fraud sentence and being wanted for scamming Woods. He was eventually tracked down and extradited back to the UK.
In a previous hearing, Acklom’s lawyers argued there was an abuse of process in the case. The judge ruled against this claim, stating it had not been the case.
Now, Acklom’s team believes the judge’s ruling was too brief and should have been more detailed. They argue that they lack access to important information from prosecutors.
The judge stated he cannot end the proceedings and that Acklom can appeal once the case concludes. Financial investigators found Acklom has available funds of nearly £262,000.
Meanwhile, Spanish authorities have confiscation orders against him worth 374,000 euros for crimes committed in Spain.
