An East Cambridgeshire property developer has been jailed for falsifying building work completion certificates for a residential development.  

Wayne Murfet, who was the boss of Lors Homes, supplied 36 fake Building Control Completion Certificates to purchasers of flats on The Grosvenor complex in Newmarket High Street.   

In a case brought by Suffolk Trading Standards, Murfet was jailed on Tuesday (October 1) for three-and-a-half years at a sentencing hearing at Ipswich Crown Court.  

Sentencing, Recorder Emma Nash said that she took into account his previous good character and the impact custody would have on his family.  

But she also considered the fact that the purchasers would not have bought the flats had it not been for the certificates.  

Murfet was also disqualified from being a company director for seven years.  

A hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act will now take place next year after which Murfet's companies will be sentenced.  

Lors Homes has already been placed into liquidation. 

A Suffolk County Council press release outlining the case explains West Suffolk Council Building Control alerted Trading Standards to the situation in 2019.    

The court heard how the certificates were supplied to the purchasers of the flats as part of the conveyancing process.   

The documents were similar to those officially issued by building control - but had not been formally issued by the department.  

But buyers went on to purchase their properties believing they had been signed off.  

Since this discovery, West Suffolk Building Control inspected and found breaches of building regulations and fire safety concerns with the building.  

As a result, a 24-hour waking watch had to be installed in the building.  

The court heard the building had since been sold by the developer and West Suffolk Building Control was collaborating with the new owners to have things put right so that it meets building regulations.  

During the investigation it then emerged a further false building control completion certificate had been supplied by Murfet to a purchaser of a property in Cambridgeshire through another company of his called Murfet (Burrough Green) Limited.      

Murfet, 41, of Freckenham Road, Chippenham, had denied 12 lead counts of dishonestly intending to make a gain by failing to disclose information to the purchaser which he was under a legal duty to disclose.

Namely, that building works had not been certified as complete by Building Control of West Suffolk Council contrary to section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006.  

He also denied two counts of making or supplying an article for use in fraud contrary to section 7 of the Fraud Act 2006.  

Graham Crisp, head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said: “Wayne Murfet’s actions caused significant distress to the purchasers of the flats, who had no idea the certificates they received were not genuine and that their properties had not been signed off.  

“Murfet’s behaviour caused substantial loss to the purchasers and created a significant risk to people’s safety and property.”