'My two years of hell' - estate agent wrongly accused of fraud

Scott Bernstein, of Cowley Hill, Borehamwood, was the subject of a two-year fraud investigation after money went missing from Daniel Scott – the business he set up.

But this week, Hertfordshire Constabulary dropped the case against Mr Bernstein and say he will not face any criminal charges.

The estate agent’s ordeal began in 2013 when police told the former company director they were looking into allegations of theft from the company.

But maintaining his innocence was not easy, and despite support form his wife, Lauretta-Jayne, he sank into a deep depression.

The 34-year-old said: “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.”

Throughout the two years, his family were bombarded with calls and visits from disgruntled former clients who had been left out of pocket – and one even turned up at his daughter’s birthday party.

The ordeal put a strain on his marriage to Lauretta-Jayne, and his relationship with his children, Brandon, now eight, and Savannah, five.

The stress of what happened caused Lauretta-Jayne to go into premature labour at 22 weeks and give birth to a stillborn boy.

Mr Bernstein added: “When we lost our son, 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.”

It was only when Mr Bernstein’s son told him he is the ‘best estate agent in the world’ he decided to take control of his life.

He realised the stress of the investigation caused him to miss precious milestones in his children’s lives - and was determined to take matters into his own hands.

He said: “Any other wife would have left but Lauretta stuck by me – I couldn’t have got through it without my family. I lost a lot of time with my children growing up because of what happened – I regret that.”

Mrs Bernstein said the two year investigation was a “harrowing” time for the family.

The 37-year-old lost friends during the ordeal but never doubted her husband’s innocence.

She said: “I felt like I was a single mum because Scott was capable of nothing. I tried to keep it as normal for the children but I didn’t know what the future held.

“I lost a lot of friends who assumed Scott was guilty. I thought my husband could end up in prison. It was awful.”

The couple welcomed a newborn son, Jayden, three weeks ago and are now looking forward to putting the past behind them.

Mr Bernstein has recently begun working for Reece Residential in Borehamwood and says the future is looking up.

He added: “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.”

In a statement, police said: “I can confirm that no further action is being taken against Mr Bernstein and no other arrests or charges have been made in relation to this case.”