Cruel conman cheated vulnerable Coventry resident out of £4k

[dutchman]

A cruel conman cheated a vulnerable former work colleague out of more than £4,000 – after already having a county court judgement against him over money he had borrowed and not repaid



Stephen Thompson, who used the money to fund his gambling addiction, initially denied defrauding the Coventry man, claiming he was going to pay him back from winnings.

But on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court, Thompson, 29, of Wheelers Lane, Kings Heath, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to six charges of fraud.

Thompson, whose previous convictions included one for money-laundering, was jailed for 16 months and ordered to pay £3,690 compensation to his victim.

Gerard Cullen, defending, said Thompson, who was unaware of his victim’s vulnerability, ‘sought solace in a gambling habit’ at the time, having lost his job and a relationship having ended.

But he was now attending Gamblers Anonymous and working again, and had got together some money, and could pay compensation if he was given a suspended sentence.

But Judge Andrew Lockhart QC observed that if he already had the money, he could pay compensation even if he received an immediate sentence.

Jailing Thompson, the judge told him: “Through quite a complex web of deception you persuaded him it was necessary for you to be provided by him with a sum of £3,500 and later you persuaded him to take more money out of ATM machines and to purchase scratch cards.

“Your gambling addiction drove you to behave in this way, and you are doing something about it. But you are a man who, in my view, has offended in a sustained manner.”