Jail for romeo conman, 36, who duped lovelorn mum, 57, out of £43k
A SERIAL conman who swindled more than £43,000 from a love-struck woman has been jailed for 12 months.
Lester Thorpe conned Dora Lingham out of the huge sum after meeting the 57-year-old in a bar in Edinburgh.
The 36-year-old ‘charmed’ Miss Lingham by telling her he was a professional gambler and could guarantee huge returns on an investment scheme he was involved in.
But after the victim had handed over her credit card details and began paying thousands of pounds into Thorpe’s bank account she began to become suspicious about the lack of returns.
She then told her children what had happened and informed the police.
Appearing from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday Thorpe pleaded guilty to obtaining £43,000 from Miss Lingham by inducing her to pay the cash into his account. He also admitted making unauthorised payments from her credit card and setting up betting accounts in her name.
Fiscal depute Aiden Higgins told the court that Thorpe targeted Miss Lingham after he chatted her up in a pub in June 2013.
Mr Higgins said: ‘The lady is 57 and she was flattered by the accused and was charmed by him.
‘He told her he had an investment scheme that involved gambling but that it was guaranteed. The lady was taken in by the detailed and plausible explanation given.’
Mr Higgins added Miss Lingham wanted to invest her savings in a bid to raise more cash to help her son with a deposit for his first home.
She handed over her credit card details as ‘she believed it was required to guarantee the investments, but the accused used the card for gambling’.
The court heard Thorpe, also known as Lester Hawkes, paid £10,000 back into Miss Lingham’s account after she began questioning the investment scheme.
Sheriff Michael O’Grady QC heard Thorpe was given 54 months’ jail this year at an English court for similar offences. He sentenced Thorpe to a 12-month term which will run concurrently with his present sentence.
In February at Canterbury Crown Court, Thorpe admitted ten charges of conning friends and lovers out of £371,445.86. He has fraud convictions dating back to 2007.
‘Flattered and charmed by him’