Conman jailed for swindling sports clubs
A conman who tried to swindle sports clubs and hotels by making up sob-stories begging for money has been jailed for nine months.
Michael Vernon Lang, 42, was caught when he went to a rugby club in May to ask its president for a loan – only to find a police officer who was investigating the case sat nearby.
Lang immediately arrested and later admitted five charges of fraud, and at Christchurch District Court on Friday entered guilty pleas to a further seven charges.
Defending, Nick Rout said the additional charges were similar to the others and described the case as ‘‘inexorably sad’’.
‘‘Sadly, this man’s more comfortable in prison than he is in the community.’’
A previous hearing was told Lang had lied to organisations to try to scam them out of small amounts of money, typically less than $500.
Detective Sergeant Don Fisher investigated several complaints about a man purporting to be called Paul Thompson contacting clubs to ask them for cash.
‘‘He was claiming his son Michael’s car had broken down [and] his wallet had been stolen and [he] claimed to have known the organisation from years gone by,’’ Fisher said.
‘‘He said ‘I have no-one else to turn to
‘‘Sadly, this man’s more comfortable in prison than he is in the community.’’
was and I was just wondering if you’d be kind enough to lend me $400? And you give me your bank account and I will put the money into it straight away’.
‘‘He then produces a bank account and shows money has gone into it and it doesn’t.’’
He was snared on May 19 when Fisher caught him red-handed as he tried to swindle cash from a rugby club. The court heard on Friday that Lang had previously suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from an incident when someone was shot while sitting next to him, that he had a drug problem which made treatment difficult and that he had attempted suicide shortly before his arrest.
Since his arrest he has apologised to his victims.
Judge Brian Callaghan said the victims could be described as gullible but they were also charitable.
Jailing Lang for nine months, the judge also ordered him to pay back almost $4000 and complete a course of treatment and counselling following his release, saying: ‘‘He comes across as being genuine today and I do have a sense of feeling sympathetic to his plight in life.’’