Con Tried to Sell London's The Ritz Hotel

Apparently the old adage still applies: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

It might seem incredible that anyone might believe that London's one of the most prestigious hotels The Ritz, could be for sale at a price less than half the market value.

But businessman Terry Collins was convinced it was, and handed over £1 million ($2 million) as a down payment on the historic property in Piccadilly.

Conman Anthony Lee and Patrick Dolan told businessman Collins they represented the Ritz's owners, the Barclay brothers.

Lee, an undischarged bankrupt, offered to broker a deal for Collins to buy the hotel for just £250 million, when the estimated market value of the property was around £600million.

They claimed they could get the Barclay brothers to sell the exclusive London hotel at the bargain price, but needed £1million to keep the deal exclusive.

But after Collins handed over the money, Lee and Patrick fled with the cash.

Lorry driver Lee, 48, retired construction company contracts manager Patrick, 67 and their partner Conn Farrell, 56, were accused of fraudulently trying to sell Ritz Hotel and have been ordered to stand trial.

A trial, expected to last four weeks, will begin on 7 June next year.