Conman who registered non-existent babies jailed

A businessman who travelled to Scotland to register the births of 26 non-existent babies using phoney birth certificates to claim benefits has been jailed.

Rory Mcwhirter, director of property firm Capital Residential Ltd, devised the scheme while living with his paediatric doctor girlfriend in Dundee, who had charges against her dropped.

He duped people into applying for fake jobs at a Glasgow hotel through an ad on Gumtree then used their identity details and those of other couples to get copies of their marriage certificates. He used those and forged letters claiming the children had been born in home births to register the non-existent children.

Mcwhirter, 29, of Douglas Crescent, Edinburgh, was jailed for two years and four months at Dundee Sheriff Court.