A HAMPSHIRE man has been jailed after a string of offences which left victims conned out of tens of thousands.
Forty-nine-year-old Simon Turner, of Brockenhurst in Hampshire, was handed a prison sentence of ten years at Reading Crown Court on Wednedsay, April 22.
It came after he pleaded guilty to multiple offences, including two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of theft.
One separate account of fraud by false representation was also taken into consideration during sentencing, which he pleaded guilty to.
Between June 2022 and January last year, Turner befriended the victim, a man in his seventies, in Reading, earning his trust by giving him company and assisting him with odd jobs.
He then convinced the victim that he could help him with buying a bigger home–to which end the victim paid Turner more than £40,000.
Turner repeatedly claimed that the sale was progressing and everything was going as planned, even providing falsified documents to convince the victim that the sale was advancing as expected.
During this time, Turner took £25,800 from the victim for the sale.
However it was later revealed that Turner had no right of ownership of the house in question, and no sale was taking place.
When the victim repeatedly asked for his money to be returned, he was given excuses, and no money was paid back.
On a separate occasion, Turner attempted to sell a Kia Soul by taking the vehicle’s logbook into a garage, also in Reading.
There, he was provided with a £1750 deposit on the condition that he would deliver the car to the garage.
After the car was not delivered, the garage repeatedly asked for Turner to return the money, causing him to eventually return £750 only.
During their investigation, police officers discovered that Simon had no right to the car and that it belonged to his ex-partner who had no idea that he had taken the V5 and that he was attempting to sell her vehicle.
Police inquiries into the incident also uncovered further fraud by Turner, who had groomed a woman in her fifties by using a dating website, and defrauded her.
Over an eight-month period, Turner convinced the victim into trusting and relying on him, and took £4,500 of her money to assist her in buying a car which he claimed he was going to source for her.
The car was never provided and despite several requests for the money back, the money was also never returned.
As a result, the victim was left without a car and spent £2325 on hire cars to get to work.
Meanwhile he was also telling the victim he had contacts at Apple and could get her reduced-price products.
She gave him £261 for goods which were never provided, and the money was never returned to her.
Turner would also say that his accounts had been frozen and that he couldn’t pay rent to scam a further £4209 from the woman involved.
In total, he took more than £11,000 from her.
Turner was arrested on 26 May 2023 and charged on 25 May 2024.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Becky Oliver of the Central Fraud Unit in Berkshire, said: “Over a period of time, Turner has manipulated and befriended the victims to the point that they believed him to be someone they loved and even built relationships where he was seen as a son.
“He has then used these relationships to callously take their hard earned money which he used to fund a gambling habit, spending thousands of pounds on various gambling websites and casinos; leaving the victims with no money to fund their retirement and future dreams.”
Detective Inspector Duncan Wynn, of the Central Fraud Unit, said: “I am pleased with this sentence which comes after Turner pleaded guilty following a thorough and extensive investigation by DC Becky Oliver and the Berkshire Fraud Team.
“Following the Thames Valley Police investigation, further offences were identified in other forces whereby Dorset and Wiltshire colleagues were able to add to the case against Turner.
“The sentence reflects the severity of the offences whereby Turner systematically exploited vulnerable victims and defrauded them of large sums of money.
“He has been proven to be a serial and prolific fraudster who befriends his unsuspecting victims, earns their trust and then financially abuses that trust.
“He took their precious funds for his own selfish gain and left a trail of distraught victims in his wake.
“I hope that the length of sentence imposed will act as a deterrent to others and demonstrate our commitment to pursuing fraudsters and bringing them to justice on behalf of victims.”
