Suffolk fraudster Wayne Parker's victim says arrest 'good'

In late 2022, farmer James Wright lost the sum to Parker, who presented himself as a legitimate lifestock owner, after he refused to pay the invoice for bales of hay that Mr Wright had sold to him.

With his wife six months pregnant at the time, Mr Wright said the ordeal was particularly distressing.

The former Mildenhall man, who was found guilty of fraud at Ipswich Crown Court in October 2022, was arrested by police in Hampshire on Thursday after being stopped at a service station near Basingstoke.

READ MORE: Victim of Suffolk fraudster Wayne Parker speaks out

He has since been brought back to Suffolk and remanded in custody by the crown court on Friday.

Wayne Parker was arrested after months on the run. (Image: Suffolk Trading Standards)

Mr Wright said: “It is good that Wayne has finally been caught. He defrauded us whilst he was on bail. 

"While we and the other victims will never get our money back we can only hope that he will now face a lengthy sentence.” 

Mr Wright previously spoke to this paper saying many people are "let off the hook" because their victims are too embarrassed to say anything.

He said: "It is embarrassing, yes, but when people don't talk about it, all it's doing is protecting these fraudsters.

"We often don't talk about fraud because of the shame involved, but it can happen to anyone."

James Wright was conned out of £7,500 by Wayne Parker. (Image: James Wright)

In total, Parker was found to have defrauded creditors out of £765,000.

READ MORE: Suffolk fraudster Wayne Parker arrested at service station

He issued cheques for thousands of pounds that bounced on accounts which only contained a few pennies or that were empty.

Parker denied participating in a fraudulent business with intent to defraud creditors by incurring debts but was convicted after a three-week trial.

Nadia Silver, prosecuting for Suffolk Trading Standards, claimed that Parker bought goods on credit and on the goodwill of suppliers and assured them he was a person of good standing who would pay what he owed.

Parker was unable to attend his original court date as he was undergoing tests for suspected testicular cancer, but failed to attend his sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court on February 7.

In June, the former Mildenhall man had an appeal thrown out by a London judge after claiming his conviction was unsafe because a juror used a mobile phone during his hearing. 

Wayne Parker will appear back at Ipswich Crown Court on September 19.

A warrant was issued for his arrest by Ipswich Crown Court with Suffolk Trading Standards making a series of appeals to locate Parker. 

Since going on the run, Parker has been known to use the dating site Match.com and has also been hiring cars in a bid, it is believed, to avoid detection by the police.

Suffolk Trading Standards said Parker had links to west London, with his last known address being in Feltham – however he has carried out work across Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Surrey.

Previously, Mr Wright described the delays to his sentencing as a 'shocking failure of our justice system'.

Parker is due to be sentenced on September 19. 

READ MORE: Suffolk news