Record as half young now go to university
A LOTTERY liar who faked an £8.9million win is now being hunted by police for “romance fraud” after allegedly conning heartbroken women out of £400,000.
John Eric Wells, 61, was jailed for three years for his jackpot con and the bizarre crime was later dramatised in a film starring Martin Kemp.
Wells tricked his wife, family, friends, bank managers and even a Jaguar car salesman while going on a spending spree.
Now, more than 20 years on, he has been accused of leaving a trail of heartbroken women in his wake.
One claims he fleeced her of her life savings after posing as a millionaire hotelier.
Wells, whose lottery lie in 1996 inspired the movie Can’t Buy Me Love, is on the South Yorkshire Police “wanted” list. It is feared he has fled to Asia.
One of Wells’s alleged victims, Hazel Wilkins, from Rusper, West Sussex, said: “That man has ruined my life and who knows how many others.
“I had a lovely family home, a great job and I was happy when I met him. Now I have nothing and I will never be happy again. He is the devil incarnate to me.”
Ms Wilkins claimed Wells stole her life savings of almost £63,000.
She said she was tricked into leaving her job so she could manage his non-existent restaurant on Guernsey.
Since he vanished in 2017, she has been paying back £17,000 in loans he’d taken out in her name – wiping out half her pension.
She said Wells, who claimed he had cancer, also told her he owned dozens of hotels around the world and left their home on frequent “business trips” – often sending her photos from exoticlooking locations.
Ms Wilkins claims her “charming” partner had cancelled their wedding plans five times claiming friends and family had died.
During the lottery fraud, Wells persuaded banks and businesses to give him credit and car firms to lend him vehicles, including three Jaguars.
When cheques bounced, he explained he was having trouble getting money transferred from his overseas accounts.
When police finally arrested him he still claimed to be a lottery winner.
South Yorkshire Police said in a statement: “Wells is also believed to go by the names Howard Walmsley and Howard Hemmings.
“The 61-year-old, who is originally from South Yorkshire, is wanted in connection with three high value romance frauds, during which three victims lost money totalling more than £400,000.
“The victims lived in locations around the UK including Doncaster, Sussex and London.” HALF of all young adults in England now attend university – more than ever before.
The number of people aged 17 to 30 in higher education has risen steadily over the past five years, but figures show it hit a record 50.2 per cent in 2017/18.
Women are more likely to go to university than men, with 56.6 per cent of females choosing to further their education, compared to 44.1 per cent of males.
However, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson accused universities of “virtue signalling” and failing to prove what they are doing to recruit disadvantaged students.
During a visit to King’s College London yesterday, MrWilliamson told how he had written to vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK and urged the sector to take students’ backgrounds into account when making offers.
He said a “vast amount of cash” was being spent on this but “while the impact is moving in the right direction, it is moving far, far too slowly”.