‘MEAN’ AND CAUGHT
Mount Estate, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.
Baldry stole almost £25,000 from his widowed partner and drained her bank account until there was just £23 left. The money he took had been left over from the life insurance policy of the woman’s late husband.
Lee Davies, for Baldry, said this was not a case where the stolen money had been spent “living the high life” though he accepted his client had bought himself a car with his victim’s money – albeit a £400 one.
He was jailed for 12 months. At a subsequent hearing, he was ordered to pay back just £20.
Judge Geraint Walters told Baldry: “You saw the opportunity and you took advantage of her vulnerability, I have not a shadow of a doubt. She had money – you did not. It is hard to conceive of circumstances more mean.”
SERIAL FRAUDSTER TRICKED A PENSIONER OUT OF £9,000 SAVINGS
Thomas Connors, 51, from Wentloog Road in St Mellons, Cardiff, admitted fraud and unfair trading.
Connors persuaded a pensioner to hand over £9,000 of savings by pretending to be a roofer sent to work on her block of flats. He also gave a clergyman a quote for £4,000 for replacing cracked tiles – work later judged by an independent expert to be worth £700 and in fact completely unnecessary.
Kevin Seal, defending, described the defendant as a “family man”. He suggested his guilty pleas showed “genuine remorse” and meant the victims did not have to come to court to give evidence. Connors was jailed for two years. Judge Jeremy Jenkins described the defendant’s behaviour as “disgraceful”.
WOMAN TOOK £11,000 FROM A SCHEME TO HELP KIDS IN NEED Victoria Gomez, 44, from Southerndown Road in St Brides Major, Bridgend, admitted fraud.
Gomez was a finance officer working on a programme to support underprivileged children. She used a card to buy goods worth more than £11,000 for her own family. The defendant, who was responsible for budgets on the Flying Start scheme, used a procurement card to buy items including a coffee machine, PlayStation accessories and jewellery.
Christopher Evans, defending, said Gomez was in £30,000 of debt through credit cards and loans and asked for an adjournment to allow her to repay the money. She did pay back more than £11,000.
Gomez was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 125 hours of unpaid work, plus 10 sessions of rehabilitation activity. She was ordered to pay £350 in costs and a £100 victim surcharge.
Judge Michael Fitton QC told her: “You have done the single most important thing. . . You have repaid the debt.”
MAN ADVERTISED HIS EX’S FLAT ON GUMTREE AND POCKETED £2,000
Phillip Allman, 29, from Obama Grove in Rogerstone, Newport, admitted three counts of fraud in breach of a suspended sentence.
Allman pocketed more than £2,000 by advertising his ex-girlfriend’s flat in Cardiff on Gumtree and then bought himself a ticket to Ayia Napa. His former partner let him stay with her when his new relationship ended but he abused her trust by showing people around her property and taking “deposits” from them.
When he was interviewed by the police, Allman claimed his ex knew what was going on – which was not true. He claimed he was depressed and needed the money to “get away”. Allman was jailed for 12 months. Judge Michael Fitton QC told the defendant: “The offences for which I have to deal with you are really mean and underhand offences of dishonesty. They come from a man who has been committing offences of dishonesty for years and years. You were fortunate enough to have a generous friend. You abused her friendship and trust to cheat people out of money.”
PHOTO OF A CAGE FIGHTING CHAMP USED ON TINDER TO SWINDLE £16,000
Paul Davies, 30, of Hazlewood Road, Cwmavon, Port Talbot, admitted eight counts of fraud.
Supermarket worker Davies used a photo of a hunky cage fighter on a dating site and pretended to be a high-flying manager living in a penthouse to scam vulnerable women out of more than £16,000. He used a photo of American mixed martial arts champion Cody Garbrandt in his profile and told his victims he was a successful businessman living in a flash apartment in Cardiff Bay. The reality was somewhat differenent.
Hywel Davies, defending, said
Davies had been suffering from depression following the end of a relationship and, in order to make new friends, had set up a profile and created stories “so that people would like him”.
The judge sentenced him to 28 months in prison and also activated a previously imposed six-month suspended sentence, making an overall sentence of 34 months.
Judge Keith Thomas said the defendant had portrayed himself as a successful businessman online in order to “prey on vulnerable women”. He told Davies: “You deliberately set out to abuse the trust of these women for financial gain.”
BUSINESS DESTROYED AFTER BEFRIENDING THE OWNER Christopher Edwards, 53, from Whitchurch Road in Cardiff, initially denied fraud by abuse of position, but changed his plea on the day his trial was due to start.
Edwards destroyed a Cardiff-based cleaning business it took the director 35 years to build after starting it from scratch in her garden shed. He conned the company out of nearly £80,000, which he paid into his own bank account, but made it look like the payments were going to HM Revenue and Customs.
Sharon Kelleher, who worked hard to build Dusters up into a successful domestic and commercial cleaning business, said it was “soul-destroying”. The court heard his mental and physical health deteriorated in his late 40s and he began to abuse alcohol and drugs. Andrew Davies, defending, said: “Of course that is a vicious circle. He spiralled into debt.”
Edwards was jailed for three years and two months.
Judge Michael Fitton QC told the defendant: “You have disgraced your profession and yourself in falling, as you have done, as low as this.”
SISTER SWINDLED OUT OF HER INHERITANCE
Ron Savory, 58, of Nant y Dderwen, Drefach, Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.
Savory was entrusted to act as executor of his stepfather’s will, but ignored his deceased parent’s wishes and kept all the money in the estate for himself. His sister, Ivy, said she felt “betrayed” by what had happened over the will.
Tom Scapens, for Savory, said the defendant had not spent the money on living a lavish lifestyle. He said his client had acted “not out of greed but out of spite”.
Savory was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Paul Thomas QC told the defendant: “If you are not thoroughly ashamed of yourself, you should be.”
CAFE OWNER CONNED OUT OF £50,000 WITH A FAKE BUSINESS DEAL
Paul Dare, 52, from Collard Crescent in Barry, admitted two counts of fraud.
Dare conned a cafe owner out of nearly £50,000 with a fake business deal, leaving him struggling to pay his bills. The cafe boss believed he was helping the defendant start his own business, but really he was being swindled out of thousands of pounds.
Kevin Seal, defending, said his client’s marriage had broken down and his business failed. He added: “He effectively has nothing. He is now a man of straw.”
Dare was jailed for three years and two months with an additional 28 days for failing to surrender.
FAKE LANDSCAPE GARDENER CONNED DEPOSITS FROM CUSTOMERS
Daniel Cassar, 34, from Llandaff Road in Canton, Cardiff, admitted seven counts of fraud and four offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.
Serial fraudster Cassar posed as a landscape gardener and conned hundreds of pounds from his customers for various gardening projects he never even intended to start. The defendant, who was using the fake name Liam Frankfort and trading as L&J’s Landscaping, asked his victims for hefty deposits then used the cash to fund his gambling addiction.
Heath Edwards, defending, said the defendant became addicted to gambling machines while working for a gambling company. He added: “He was trapped in a cycle of dishonesty.” Cassar was jailed for 16 months and ordered to pay a £149 victim surcharge.
Judge Nicola Jones said: “You lied and lied and lied and had no intention of doing anything for those people in question.”