Conman targeted elderly victims

SLOUGH: A ‘heartless criminal’ who stole elderly people’s money in Bourne End and Slough has been jailed for 11 years.

Jim Chuter, 33, of no fixed address, was sentenced on Thursday, May 19 for nine counts of burglary, 16 counts of fraud and one count of robbery.

Chuter committed a number of offences in the Thames Valley in locations including Marlow Road, Bourne End, Washington Drive, Slough and Edgewood, High Wycombe.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison after entering a guilty plea at Guildford Crown Court.

On multiple occasions in 2020, Chuter approached elderly people claiming that he needed to carry out work on their property.

He would often barge into the victim’s home uninvited and aggressively press them for cash in exchange for the bogus work.

He would then steal more cash and bank cards from the victim’s homes without their knowledge, which he would then use to withdraw money from their accounts.

In some cases, Chuter pretended to be a health care worker and used the threat of COVID-19 to intimidate and confuse victims into letting him into their homes.

The conviction of the 33-year-old follows a joint investigation between Thames Valley Police, Surrey Police and the Metropolitan Police.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Richard Tulloch, based at High Wycombe police station, said: “Chuter is a heartless criminal who had no problem in exploiting the vulnerability of elderly people for his own financial gain.

“Our sympathies remain with each of the victims in these cases, who were manipulated by Chuter and tricked and burgled of their cash.

“I hope that today’s result provides some form of justice for the victims, some of which are sadly not with us now and never got to see Chuter held to account for his abhorrent behaviour.”