Agent's delight after fraud allegations dismissed by police

An agent wrongly accused of fraud has described the “hell” he went through following allegations that money had been stolen from the firm of which he was a director.

Scott Bernstein, in an interview with the Borehamwood & Elstree Times, has been at the centre of a two-year fraud investigation after money went missing from Daniel Scott, the letting and estate agency business he set up.

However, Hertfordshire Constabulary this week dropped the case against Bernstein and says he will not face any criminal charges.

The article says the agent’s ordeal began in 2013 when police told him of the allegations. 

“I felt terrible. I spent the day curled up in the corner of a room, crying my eyes out. I felt completely shattered. I was very low. I didn’t know what way to turn. I couldn’t get out of bed. I was trying to hide. I thought my life was over. I thought there was no light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t control the tears. It was hell” says Bernstein.

The article chronicles how his family were bombarded with calls and visits from disgruntled former clients who had been left out of pocket – one even turned up at his daughter’s birthday party.

He says the stress caused his wife Lauretta-Jayne to go into premature labour at 22 weeks and give birth to a stillborn boy. ”That was the lowest point of our lives – everything else was irrelevant. We thought about moving to a different country, but we didn’t want to run away when we knew I was innocent” he says.

Bernstein now works for Reece Residential in Borehamwood and his wife last month gave birth to a son. 

“The relief we felt when my name was cleared was amazing. I just wanted to shout it out to the whole world. I want to stop the rumour mills from turning and my family and I want to move on with our life” says Bernstein in the interview.

A police statement says: “No further action is being taken against Mr Bernstein and no other arrests or charges have been made in relation to this case.”