A Hexham fraudster who claimed to be a retired police officer and conned his partner out of £75,000 has been jailed.
Michael Eric Forster met a woman on a dating site and a relationship developed soon after, but the 69-year-old soon began telling the woman a web of lies, including that he was a retired police officer and that his wife had passed away when she hadn’t.
Forster then persuaded the woman to invest thousands of pounds of her own money in Swiss investment bonds he claimed to have, and even paid fake payments into the woman’s account which she believed was interest from her investment. But when the relationship was coming to an end and the woman asked for her money back, Forster became “aggressive” and cut all contact with her, leaving her £75,000 out of pocket.
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On Wednesday, Forster, of Redburn Crescent, Acomb, Hexham, appeared at Durham Crown Court to be sentenced for four counts of fraud. He had pleaded guilty to the offences.
Matthew Hopkins, prosecuting, said Forster had met the woman on a dating site in 2012 and they later met face to face where he lied to her, telling her his wife had passed away and that he was a retired police officer. The relationship then developed and in 2014 Forster told the woman he wanted to build a home and that he had a Swiss bank account. Mr Hopkins said: “He suggested she put some of her money in bonds and suggested the Swiss bank…
