TWO fraudsters who conned schools and businesses out of thousands of pounds appeared in court today.

Old Hatfield man Daniel Cullen, who ran BC Telecom with Daniel Buttle, were at St Albans Crown Court this afternoon (Wednesday) after pleading guilty to a string of charges.

The 28-year-old from Park Street, who hid his face as he left the hearing today, was told he and Buttle, 32, of Portland Road, Bishop’s Stortford, are likely to face a long prison term.

But judge Martin Griffiths told the pair: “Your case is significant enough for me to take a serious view of it.”

The judge delayed sentencing after hearing a case in Ipswich Crown Court, for which Cullen had involvement in, had not yet sentenced their main protagonists.

Cullen and Buttle admitted instigating a scam in which sales reps from their Hatfield-based companies, BC Telecom Ltd and Business Telecommunications Systems Ltd, implied they were calling on behalf of BT.

Companies were told their phone lines needed to be changed from analogue to digital and were tied into lengthy and expensive hire contracts.

*Read reaction from Welwyn Hatfield businesses affected, and the hearing in full in next week’s Welwyn Hatfield Times.