A BOGUS businessman who duped dozens of local shopkeepers into handing over their cash has admitted fraud charges following a three-year investigation.

Nigel Hallett took money from small businessowners in Bournemouth and Poole who wanted to be featured in a number of business directories and promotional maps due to be distributed across the area in 2013 and 2014.

The defendant, 47, visited smaller, independent businesses where he could cold-call the owner and sell space in his Little Black Book or Buzz Maps publications.

He claimed he was a legitimate publisher in order to get his victims to pay for advertising space, and falsely told traders that his directory and maps would be made available through well-known shops such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer.

Hallett also said he had arranged to distribute the publications through businesses and organisations including Bournemouth University, JP Morgan and LV=. However, no such arrangements were in place.

Victims were told that the publications would be available at railway stations, including London Waterloo, and well-known hotels including Hotel du Vin.

Those targeted by Hallett believed he was working with the approval of the area’s tourist information centres and Poole council. He even reproduced the council’s logo on his paperwork.

James Norman, regularly team manager at the Borough of Poole, said none of the publications Hallett had sold advertising for were ever produced and none of the victims received a refund of the money they had paid.

In some cases, business owners had paid around £600 to appear in the publications. Victims made phone calls and sent emails to the defendant. However, he never replied and instead moved into other areas to sell advertisements in his next publication, Mr Norman said.

When the Echo interviewed him in May 2014 to ask him about the problems, he apologised for the delay and said this was because he had suffered health problems. “As a gesture of goodwill I am sending out a written apology to all Poole businesses this week and giving them a free listing on the website, which is live in August.I’ve refunded a number of people. I’m an honest person and passionate about helping small businesses.”

But Hallett pleaded guilty to two counts of operating a fraudulent business on the first day of a planned two-week trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

The defendant, of Little Keyford Lane in Frome, Somerset, will be sentenced in January.

“This is a clear case of a bogus businessman willing to exploit the trust of small businesses for his own profit,” Mr Norman added.

“Hallett presented himself to his victims as a small, family run business in order to generate empathy.

“He was a very convincing salesman but it was all aimed at generating a false impression of legitimacy.”

Councillor John Rampton, cabinet portfolio holder for environment and consumer protection, said: “Hallett targeted small businesses in the area and defrauded them of money they could not afford to lose.

“This was a lengthy, complex, and difficult case involving multiple witnesses and we believe this was the largest investigation of this type in the south west.”