Fireman Scam
Jobless conman told lover he was a single firefighter worth £2m – but had wife and family
A CONMAN who duped his lover into thinking he was a millionaire philanthropist while living a double life with his wife and children has been jailed for six years.
Greg Wilson, 39, created the alter ego James Scott to trick Coleen Greenwood, 46, after they met on a dating website.
As Scott, jobless Wilson claimed to be a fireman who had inherited £2million from his mother.
He acted with ‘jaw- dropping arrogance and cruelty’ during the three-year deception, Durham Crown Court heard. The couple met in September 2014 and the relationship ended when Wilson’s lies emerged in February 2017.
He lived with Miss Greenwood in Chester-le- Street, County Durham, telling her he had an ex-wife who had taken his two daughters to live with her in Texas.
In reality, his wife and three sons lived 30 miles away in Darlington.
The conman, who was jailed on fraud charges, bragged of saving a child’s life by leaping from a burning building, and claimed his shifts as a firefighter meant he was away for half of the week. Instead he was living with his real family.
When Miss Greenwood became pregnant in 2015, Wilson falsely claimed to have had a vasectomy. She had an abortion, but became pregnant again two months later.
After the birth, Wilson registered their son’s name under his alias.
The couple arranged to wed in December 2016, but cancelled after he claimed to have cancer. When the rearranged date was also cancelled, Miss Greenwood’s sister, Karen Crear, began to investigate. The sisters had given their life savings to Wilson, thinking they were all going into business.
He also deceived Newcastle Falcons Rugby Club and a charity called Cash For Kids, making around £100,000 in total, and tried to buy a £1.6million house in cash, but the purchase was cancelled when he failed to pay up.
In a statement, Miss Greenwood said the lies had been ‘heartbreaking’ and learning James Scott did not exist ‘felt like a bereavement’, adding: ‘ These emotions were counterbalanced by the increasing stupidity and humiliation I felt.’
Prosecutor Richard Herrmann said his lies were ‘detailed’, adding: ‘Wilson told her he had arranged to have a vasectomy... and returned with bandages on his penis.’
The court heard that when Mrs Crear eventually confronted Wilson he fled, and has not seen Miss Greenwood or their son since.