Jailed, conman feared to have got £2m from 100 lonely hearts
A RECORD-BREAKING yachtsman suspected of fleecing up to £2million from 100 women has been jailed for eight years.
Peter Berry, 51, targeted women from online dating sites and tricked them out of fortunes.
Nicknamed “Shrek” after the film character, the 20-stone lothario posed as an entrepreneur, a world-class rugby player and a decorated lifeboat hero.
His only real claim to fame is crewing on a catamaran skippered by US adventurer Steve Fossett which went from Plymouth to La Rochelle in France in a record 16 hours 41 minutes.
His victims include professionals such as lawyers, doctors, fund managers and civil servants.
One detective said: “His only real accomplishment is as a thief. He’s got a PhD in deception.”
Berry was jailed for five years in 2010 for 19 romance fraud offences. Freed on licence two years later, he quickly started where he left off, a court heard.
He fleeced three women out of £68,000 between October 2012 and October 2013.
Joanne Clifford was conned out of £35,000 after meeting Berry through dating site Plenty Of Fish in October 2012, jurors at Inner London Crown Court were told.
“He said he had a doctorate in engineering,” said Elizabeth Lowe, prosecuting. Berry told Ms Clifford there had been a mistake at work and he needed £200,000. She handed over £35,000, the court heard.
He had already started a fling with a second victim, charming Kate Peel after meeting her at a kayaking club.
“He said he had a business opportunity in IT in Europe,” said Ms Lowe. Ms Peel handed over £18,000 but “never got any back”.
Berry then told Christine Gearing he was in a “peer funding consortium” and she could expect high interest on short-term loans. She handed over £15,000.
Berry, of Brockenhurst, Hants, claimed they lent him the money.
The court heard that Berry, using aliases, went on the run and was spotted in a London bar with a beard, talking in an east European accent.
The jury found him guilty of seven counts of fraud by false representation.