Grenfell conman lied about death of his wife & son ‘to feel wanted’
A CONMAN who lied about losing his family in the Grenfell Tower tragedy did so because he wanted to feel included, a court heard yesterday.
Ahn Nhu Nguyen, 53, claimed more than £11,000 in aid meant for real victims and even gave TV interviews about his fictitious dead wife and 12-year-old son.
He was at home in Beckenham, South East London, at the time of the blaze but turned up at a leisure centre, where homeless survivors were gathered, four days later.
His lawyer Keima Payton told Southwark crown court Nguyen wanted to “feel part of a group, to be looked after, wanted and welcome”. He also had an “astonishingly low” IQ, a report found.
But Judge Philip Bartle jailed Nguyen for 21 months, telling him: “You knew you were taking advantage of genuine victims at this terrible time.” A total of 71 people died in the high rise fire at Kensington, West London, last June.
Nguyen, who came to Britain from Vietnam, aged 15, admitted two counts of fraud and trying to obtain a passport by deception.