A property tycoon has been given a sentence of 12 years' imprisonment after having been found guilty of a £3.5 million fraud over claims he sold houseboats around Hampton Court, a stretch of the river Thames that could not be lived in.

Sixty-four-year old Myck Djurberg was convicted at Kingston Crown Court for fraudulently selling houseboats without appropriate planning permission on 19 March 2024.

He was sentenced last Wednesday, 27 March to 12 years' imprisonment at the same court.

Mr Djurberg's area of operations in the Thames, near Hampton Court (Photo: CPS)

Mr Djurberg purchased the boatyard in 2011 and built a series of expensive houseboats, with the hope of developing the boatyard into a leisure marina resort according to the Crown Prosecution Service.

However, he did not obtain the appropriate planning permission for the boats and sold them without residential mooring licences.

Mr Djurberg had assured his clients that the houseboats could be used for residential purposes and that they would have no issues in mooring them long-term. 

After the sales had gone through and the purchasers moved into their houseboats, they discovered that Mr Djurberg did not have planning permission for the project and the moorings he had sold were unlawful.

After a police investigation it was found Mr Djurberg had only acquired planning permission for leisure mooring, not residential. 

He had also not paid the Environment Agency for this license. 

CPS says Richmond Council served several enforcement notices on Djurberg before sentencing, later removing some of the fraudster's unlawful pontoons.

Andrew West, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS said:

"Djurberg did not have planning consent in place to use boats for residential purposes, as dwellings nor for commercial business occupation.  

"Despite this, he fraudulently sold five houseboats, financially gaining from the misfortune of his customers.

"Following this conviction, we will pursue confiscation proceedings to ensure that Djurberg pays back the money he gained through this criminal operation."

Locals may know Mr Djurberg as the former owner of The Chalet along Hampton Court Road (Photo: Google Maps)

Mr Djurberg has previously been ordered into rehab during a 2021 civil dispute after chasing then-tenant Klaus Beversluis over £5,500 in charges at his Hampton Riviera Boat Yard.

According to The Standard, prosecutor Arfan Ahmed told Wimbledon magistrates court in 2021 that Mr Djurberg told his tenant 'I will break your f***ing head' while wielding a plastic roofing tool.