A former Shropshire man cleared of trying to blackmail tragic tycoon Christopher Foster is facing jail after admitting a £851,000 banking scam.

Timothy Baker, 35, enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle with the profits of frauds after targeting Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Baker, formerly of Shifnal but now of Walsall, admitted two conspiracies to defraud.

His wife Rachael, 35, formerly of Ironbridge but now of Walsall, admitted concealing criminal property relating to the RBS fraud.

Timothy Baker’s right-hand man, Stephen Roberts, 47, of Wolverhampton, admitted conspiracy to defraud HSBC and concealing criminal property relating to the RBS fraud.

Sentencing was adjourned yesterday until Thursday and they were released on bail.

Businessmen Stephen Lawrence, 41, and Mark Starling, 36, who each received £200,000 through Swiss bank accounts, were cleared of any wrongdoing.

They ran a recruitment company in Chelmsford, Essex, but insisted Baker was paying them commission for a legitimate deal.

Rachael Baker’s father, Paul Smith, 65, of Woodlands, Ironbridge, was cleared earlier of money-laundering after prosecutors offered no evidence.

The court heard Timothy Baker had abused a loans system designed to help business cashflow by sending RBS bogus invoices worth £675,000. While on bail for that offence, he used the alias Tim Hench to mount a second £176,000 con against HSBC.

He had been cleared of demanding £100,000 from Foster in November 2006 over a land deal in Cyprus.

Foster, 50, shot his wife Jill, 49, and daughter Kirstie, 15, before setting fire to his five-bedroom home Osbaston House in Maesbrook and killing himself in August last year.

It also emerged Timothy Baker was jailed for 15 months in April 2007 for submitting false documents during the blackmail trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court, and lying to get a passport.

Rachael Baker had been cleared of intending to pervert the course of justice at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Giving evidence, Mr Lawrence said Timothy Baker, who he was told was a multi-millionaire retired tax barrister, used his contacts to get them a “very niche” Swiss facility.

By Lisa Rowley