Love rat fraudster rips off two more women
Conman Paul William Abbott, 39, has once again been active on Tinder and Bumble to deceive and take money from women.
He is expected to be sentenced in the Invercargill District Court on Tuesday, for offending against a Southland woman in 2020 and a Taranaki woman last year.
Abbott admitted a charge of causing loss by deception, to the tune of $18,000, against the Taranaki woman. He pleaded guilty to causing loss by deception over $1000 and to theft over $1000 against the Southland woman, who is seeking $8825 reparations, a summary of facts shows.
Sergeant Chris Maguire was the officer in charge of the Southland investigation. ‘‘There are bound to be other offences he’s committing around this time period, but these are the only ones that have been reported to police.’’
In August 2020, Abbott, giving a fake name and fake background details, met a woman on Tinder, an online dating site. ‘‘The victim believed a romance was blossoming,’’ the summary of facts says.
Abbott falsely said he owned a large farm that had incurred a $200,000 fine from Environment Southland, had sold most of his assets to pay the fine and requested a loan for a vehicle. The victim hand-wrote a contract with repayment terms. Abbott signed it using his false identity, and the victim provided him with $4800.
In September 2020, Abbott told the victim he had a classic car and wanted to drive her to a concert, but it needed repairs. She gave him $260 cash. He cancelled the date at late notice.
The victim gave Abbott money for various incidentals during the following two months. While she was in Wellington on holiday, Abbott stayed at her house. When she got home, a $450 speaker, $2725 in tolls and the handwritten contract were gone. Abbott told her he was terminating the relationship.
Maguire said the Taranaki woman met Abbott on the dating app Bumble in July last year, and they started an intense long-distance relationship, but Abbott was going by the name Luke Raymond
Nicholls. This woman gave Abbott an $8000 loan for a digger and truck business in July, and then $10,000 cash in August for a ute.
When she became suspicious, Abbott got angry and terminated the relationship, Maguire said.
Abbott was sentenced to two years and seven months jail in Christchurch in 2012, for similar offending against six women in which he took $24,323. He conned two women out of more than $1500 and in 2016 was jailed for nine months.