TWO alleged fraudsters conned customers of a firm out of tens of thousands of pounds with "worthless" financial services, York Crown Court was told.

Glenn Parsons, prosecuting, alleged 36 customers complained to York trading standards about the activities of Robert Holly and Michael Wild and their organisation Yorkshire Asset Protection (YAP) of New Street, York.

Together they had handed over £31,500 between April 2012 and August 2013, for wills, funeral plans, powers of attorney or to put their home into a protected property trust, he claimed.

"The services were worthless and often not provided," alleged Mr Parsons as he opened the prosecution for City of York Council.

Holly, 43, of Oliver Street, Cleethorpes, and Wild, 51, of Rawdon Avenue, York, both deny charges of fraud, participating in a fraudulent business and engaging in illegal commercial practice. Wild also denies fraud by falsely representing that he was a solicitor.

Customer Lynda Madden alleged she and her husband Noel paid £6,500 to YAP for funeral plans for both of them through the national funeral plan provider Golden Charter.

"It was all done for peace of mind," she said.

When he died of a rare form of blood cancer, it was only after she had paid out £3,785 for his funeral that she realised Golden Charter had never heard of them and there were no funeral plans, she claimed.

In uncontested evidence, Gordon Swan, head of communications at Golden Charter, said YAP never provided his company with any business, and had breached the marketing agent contract it had with the national company.

Mrs Madden alleged she was finally refunded her money, a year after her husband's death, and after she contacted The Press.

Holly had wanted her bank details but she had insisted on payment by bankers' draft.

"Would you give your bank details to someone like that?" she said in the witness box.

Another customer Leslie Dobbin alleged he was originally only interested in buying a will from YAP.

He claimed that when he asked Wild if he was a solicitor, Wild replied "Yes".

Wild had suggested he put his home into a protected property trust to prevent a local authority forcing its sale should he need to go into a care home.

Wild had claimed that he needed to set up the trust quickly because the Government was planning to close the "loophole" by which such trusts could be set up and he therefore decided to do as Wild suggested.

"I thought he knew what he was talking about," said Mr Dobbin.

He claimed he paid £1,260 to YAP for the will and the trust but only got a will and when he tried to complain got nowhere for months.

"I got sick of ringing them," he claimed.

The trial continues.