AN ‘heir hunter’ has been jailed for two years after admitting cheating 19 victims out of almost £100,000.

Daniel Morgan Bates, 45, of Beach Gardens, Selsey, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court for offences of fraud by abuse of position.Bates operated as Morgan Bates Services Ltd, researching family trees and tracing the beneficiaries to estates of deceased where no beneficiaries to the estates have been found by the state.

He tracked down each person, calling them to say they were beneficiaries of unclaimed wills and got them to sign contracts so he could claim the cash for them.

He agreed to pay over the sums he got from the official receiver, less his 25 per cent but he never did, ignoring victims, becoming aggressive or using delaying tactics. Detective Constable Paul Gilmour said: “In many cases the family beneficiaries were vulnerable, either elderly or unaware of the legal processes involved in probate.

“This made them easy targets of the fraudulent activity that Bates engaged in.

“Families were left in limbo waiting for an update which never came.”