Morris facing jail in blackmail conspiracy case
DISGRACED Yorkshire property developer Simon Morris is facing a prison sentence after being found guilty of conspiring to blackmail a former business partner.
The former Leeds United director instructed a 21-and-a-half stone bodyguard to intimidate fellow Leeds businessman Hedley Manton to try to recover a £100,000 loan.
A jury at Newcastle Crown Court found Morris, 34, and bodyguard Johnathon Ashworth, 51, guilty of conspiring to blackmail Mr Manton between March 1 and April 1, 2009.
Morris, who was once a regular on the Sunday Times Young Rich List with an estimated fortune of almost £70m, was made bankrupt in October 2009 over creditors’ claims thought to be in the region of around £3.5m.
Morris and Ashworth were both granted bail by Judge Brian Forster QC but were warned they will be going to jail.
The men are due to be sentenced on October 24.
Over the course of the trial, the court heard how Morris lent Mr Manton the sum to help buy a house but that Mr Manton had refused to repay him following the collapse of a Leeds-based student property company he and Morris ran.
