Punjab-origin conman jailed for 3 yrs in Britain
Friday, 18/03/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
LONDON: Gur take Singh, a Birmingham-based man who conned several residents by narrating fake sob stories of illness and needing money to travel to India for medical treatment, has been jailed for 37 months.
Singh, 37, pocketed cash ranging from 20 pounds to 350 pounds from several people between June and October last year, the West Midlands police said.
Unemployed, Singh is reported to have twice driven pensioners – including an 80-year-old man – to cash points when they were told that he was short of money.
Singh admitted 11 counts of fraud, plus one charge of theft, and was jailed for 37 months by the Birmingham Crown Court this week.
He was also ordered to pay back £1,552 compensation to his victims and was made subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order that bans him from cold calling addresses and from asking people in the street for cash.
Investigating officer detective constable Estelle Albutt, said: “Singh’s tactic tended to be knocking doors in a panicked state, sometimes crying, in order to gain entry… once inside he would tell stories of relatives being rushed to hospital and that he desperately needed taxi money to visit them.
“He would claim to be locked out of his house, or that a cash point had swallowed his bank card, and promise to return the money the following day. His victims described him as friendly and charming, even kissing them on the cheek and accepting drinks while engaging them in conversation. He was very plausible and preyed on elderly, trusting residents… and he showed no remorse for the people he conned,” Albutt added.
