Serial Romance Fraudster: UK Man Swindles Money Cheating On Women

A 37-year-old man from Coventry fooled four women across the UK and swindled more than 300,000 pounds from them. He made the women believe that he was a millionaire and in a loving relationship with them. To swindle money from them, he used to create situations of crisis in his life. He has now been jailed for seven years after appearing for trial in Chester Crown Court on Tuesday. Read on to learn more about this serial romance fraudster. 

As per reports, the man was identified by four different names - McNamara, Ciaran Griffin, Christian McNamara, and Myles McNamara. Wealthy women used to be his targets to swindle a substantial amount of money from them. He used to meet these women at various places like exclusive hotels, clubs and even online platforms.

How did he conduct the fraud?

McNamara posed as a wealthy businessman and in order to make his fake identity real, he used to shower the women with expensive gifts and take them out for weekend getaways and expensive meals. He also shared images of him travelling across the world on a first-class ticket. McNamara also created a high-value property portfolio which had pictures of himself in mansions of London and Cheshire. However, the target women didn't know that he used the money he swindled from previous women to create a fake lifestyle. 

Between 1 September 2022 and 25 September 2023, he targeted four women in total across Cheshire, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire and swindled more than 302,054.26 pounds. 

How was McNamara caught?

McNamara's fraud came to light when a target woman from Cheshire sensed foul play. She understood what was happening and reported to the police about her experiences. An investigation was launched by the detectives of Cheshire Constabulary Economic Crime Unit following which he was arrested in Colchester on Thursday 28 September.

Subsequently, he was charged with conning four women. The investigating officers even raised a lock-up that McNamara had rented to store all the money. The officers recovered approximately 19,500 pounds worth of brand new goods - including a 1,900 pounds Burberry Coat, 400 pounds Burberry Scarf, Dubarry boots, Gucci trainers and a Ping golf set. The police are still investigating to locate more assets that McNamara had swindled. All the recovered items will be put up for a crime hearing.

Det Con Victoria Hazlewood, of Cheshire Constabulary, said, "McNamara is a serial fraudster, and I truly believe that he cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy. He convinced his victims that he was a millionaire with properties across the country, but in reality, he was unemployed and living out of a suitcase."

Finally, on February 6, he appeared for trial and was sentenced to 7 years of prison. At the hearing, Judge Simon Berkson said that McNamara, "is a serial fraudster, and I truly believe that he cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy." The judge also said that McNamara had very little sympathy for his targets and hence a real risk for the future.