A FOOTBALL fraudster has been jailed after failing to pay compensation to his victims – despite enjoying a millionaire’s lifestyle.

In 2006, York Crown Court heard how Paul Anthony Garland swindled £164,000 out of Brian and Philippa Manley of Strensall.

The year before he had been ordered by Leeds Crown Court to pay £129,000 to another victim.

He has yet to pay any of it – but since January 2010 he has spent more than £50,000 renting a luxurious mansion in Mere, Cheshire, driven two Bentley convertible cars and tried to disguise his income using a Swiss bank account.

He has also been declared bankrupt for a second time.

Now Cheshire Police are looking into his latest sources of income – and he has been locked up for 26 months for not paying the Leeds compensation order.

Detective Constable Steve Warner, from the force’s economic crime unit, said the force would continue to examine the circumstances surrounding how he sustained his wealthy lifestyle.

The Cheshire force worked with North Yorkshire Police to bring Garland before Northallerton magistrates for justice for evading the Leeds court order.

The 45-year-old, who used to live in Balfour Way, Strensall, could yet face more court demands.

In 2006, the then Recorder of York, Judge Paul Hoffman, declared Garland had benefited by £210,674 from his York crimes, and if investigators find he has assets he did not declare at the time or has acquired since then, he could be ordered to hand them over up to a total of £210,674 – on top of paying the £129,000 order.

In the Strensall fraud, Garland befriended his neighbours, the Manleys, and persuaded them to hand over cash, claiming it would be invested.

He pretended he was financing transfer deals with top football clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester City, but instead spent the money on luxury goods and services.

Earlier this year, he was unmasked as “Paul Anthony”, the lead negotiator for a consortium bidding to take over Watford FC. The club broke off the talks when it discovered he was jailed in York for 11 offences of deception. At the time it was sixth in the Championship.