By . Katie Silver . UPDATED: . 12:33 EST, 17 February 2012 . 'Fraudster': Jean-Claude Baumgartner, pictured on the slopes was sentenced to two years and eight months jail . A Dragons’ Den conman who blew . £230,000 invested by Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis was sentenced today to two years and eight months jail-time. Jean-Claude Baumgartner, 50, duped . the Dragons into handing over the cash with false promises of a business that would create a ‘satnav for skiers’. Mr Baumgartner managed to swindle the money with a business plan that was backed up by fake emails and letters. Judge Aidan Marron QC, sitting at . Blackfriars Crown Court, said: ‘The fact remains that you have been . responsible for persistent dishonesty. 'You may well in fact have . intended to operate a legitimate business but the means that you chose . to establish that business were in my judgement thoroughly dishonest. ‘You lied about the ownership of . crucial equipment which was pivotal to your pitch on TV. 'You created a . wholly false trail of documents to deceive well intentioned people. ‘You have lied so many times about so many features that in my judgement I am entitled to regard that as an aggravating feature. ‘It is clear to me that from an early . stage you were redirecting monies and indeed appropriating funds for . your own purposes, you were responsible for a number of different frauds . within that main fraud.’ But Baumgartner blamed the failure of . the business to take off by claiming he had not received the support, . advice and expertise the Dragons had promised. 'Tricked': Dragons' Den stars Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones who handed £230,000 over as an investment . Rebecca Trowler, defending, said he . had already invested over £250,000 in the product which had been . designed by his business associate Paul Burrowes. Ms Trowler said: ‘He certainly felt . that he did not receive the support, expertise and resources that had . been promised and is regularly promised to those on Dragons Den, to . those who give up a substantial percentage of their business. ‘The relationship was not as good as . it could have been, he felt very let down and was not receiving the . support he needed in the context of having given up a good deal of his . business. Apparently this is a good deal for some but not Mr . Baumgartner.’ Dragons' Den: Jean-Claude Baumgartner, 50, appears on the show asking for an investment in his skiing sat-nav . Pitch: The entrepreneur addresses the Dragons' Den panel (from left to right) which is Peter Jones, left, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan . She said he ‘genuinely believed’ in the . product and the business and thought it would work out so ‘in . desperation’ got the extra cash. She pleaded with the judge for a . suspended sentence so that her client could continue to launch his . ‘fabulous creation’, the ski satnav. She said the father of two believed that if freed he could pay the Dragons back within six months. He admitted he had lied to get the . loan but ‘within weeks of the pitch’ he got the the sole rights to the . Satski, which had won a gadget show award, as promised, she told the . court. Grinning: Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones try out the device with Jean-Claude Baumgartner, left . Mr Baumgartner originally denied the . offences, claiming it was the Dragon’s employees that had siphoned off . the funds. But today he admitted one count of fraud after his trial had . been due to begin. Judge Marron said: ‘You were prepared . to orchestrate a lot of nasty allegations against perfectly . respectable, honest people to save your own skin.’ Invention: The Satski product which Jean-Claude Baumgartner went on Dragons' Den to get an investment for . The episode of the hit BBC show was . filmed in June 2009 but was not aired until March 2010 when the business . had already encountered trouble. It was then discovered that a company he . was part of, Piste Activities, had hit the rocks with £200,000 losses . and over £100,000 debts. As a result of the revelations, the already suspicious investors looked into the accounts and uncovered the fraud. Judge Marron added: ‘You could have enjoyed a privileged existence without resorting to dishonesty.’ Accused: Jean-Claude Baumgartner, who is now charged with two counts of fraud, appears beside Welsh sprinter Iwan Thomas on Dragons' Den in 2010 .
Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis handed over money after he appeared on BBC show .
Today he received two years and eight months jail time .
By . Katie Silver . UPDATED: . 12:33 EST, 17 February 2012 . 'Fraudster': Jean-Claude Baumgartner, pictured on the slopes was sentenced to two years and eight months jail . A Dragons’ Den conman who blew . £230,000 invested by Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis was sentenced today to two years and eight months jail-time. Jean-Claude Baumgartner, 50, duped . the Dragons into handing over the cash with false promises of a business that would create a ‘satnav for skiers’. Mr Baumgartner managed to swindle the money with a business plan that was backed up by fake emails and letters. Judge Aidan Marron QC, sitting at . Blackfriars Crown Court, said: ‘The fact remains that you have been . responsible for persistent dishonesty. 'You may well in fact have . intended to operate a legitimate business but the means that you chose . to establish that business were in my judgement thoroughly dishonest. ‘You lied about the ownership of . crucial equipment which was pivotal to your pitch on TV. 'You created a . wholly false trail of documents to deceive well intentioned people. ‘You have lied so many times about so many features that in my judgement I am entitled to regard that as an aggravating feature. ‘It is clear to me that from an early . stage you were redirecting monies and indeed appropriating funds for . your own purposes, you were responsible for a number of different frauds . within that main fraud.’ But Baumgartner blamed the failure of . the business to take off by claiming he had not received the support, . advice and expertise the Dragons had promised. 'Tricked': Dragons' Den stars Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones who handed £230,000 over as an investment . Rebecca Trowler, defending, said he . had already invested over £250,000 in the product which had been . designed by his business associate Paul Burrowes. Ms Trowler said: ‘He certainly felt . that he did not receive the support, expertise and resources that had . been promised and is regularly promised to those on Dragons Den, to . those who give up a substantial percentage of their business. ‘The relationship was not as good as . it could have been, he felt very let down and was not receiving the . support he needed in the context of having given up a good deal of his . business. Apparently this is a good deal for some but not Mr . Baumgartner.’ Dragons' Den: Jean-Claude Baumgartner, 50, appears on the show asking for an investment in his skiing sat-nav . Pitch: The entrepreneur addresses the Dragons' Den panel (from left to right) which is Peter Jones, left, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan . She said he ‘genuinely believed’ in the . product and the business and thought it would work out so ‘in . desperation’ got the extra cash. She pleaded with the judge for a . suspended sentence so that her client could continue to launch his . ‘fabulous creation’, the ski satnav. She said the father of two believed that if freed he could pay the Dragons back within six months. He admitted he had lied to get the . loan but ‘within weeks of the pitch’ he got the the sole rights to the . Satski, which had won a gadget show award, as promised, she told the . court. Grinning: Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones try out the device with Jean-Claude Baumgartner, left . Mr Baumgartner originally denied the . offences, claiming it was the Dragon’s employees that had siphoned off . the funds. But today he admitted one count of fraud after his trial had . been due to begin. Judge Marron said: ‘You were prepared . to orchestrate a lot of nasty allegations against perfectly . respectable, honest people to save your own skin.’ Invention: The Satski product which Jean-Claude Baumgartner went on Dragons' Den to get an investment for . The episode of the hit BBC show was . filmed in June 2009 but was not aired until March 2010 when the business . had already encountered trouble. It was then discovered that a company he . was part of, Piste Activities, had hit the rocks with £200,000 losses . and over £100,000 debts. As a result of the revelations, the already suspicious investors looked into the accounts and uncovered the fraud. Judge Marron added: ‘You could have enjoyed a privileged existence without resorting to dishonesty.’ Accused: Jean-Claude Baumgartner, who is now charged with two counts of fraud, appears beside Welsh sprinter Iwan Thomas on Dragons' Den in 2010 .
to two years and eight months jail . A Dragons’ Jones and Theo Paphitis was sentenced today to Peter Jones who handed £230,000 over as an