Romance fraudster frittered victims’ £900k away on gambling

A conman who stole over £900,000 from five women to fund his gambling addiction has been jailed.

Nigel Baker persuaded his dating-app victims to part with large sums of money, claiming that it would be invested in his ‘betting business’ to fund their new life together.

On Monday, at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, the 56-year-old father of two was sentenced to 17 years in prison for 18 counts of fraud by false representation.

Victims

One victim, a police officer conned out of nearly £80,000 by Baker, said: “What I thought was love and connection was manipulation and deceit for financial gain.”

Another, an accountant who took out a £200,000 loan to invest in Baker’s so-called business, branded him a “predator” and said he should pay “for every penny he took by misrepresenting the true person he was and is”.

A successful businesswoman deceived by the romance fraudster set up a Betfair account in his name that ran up losses of nearly £4 million.

At one point, Baker even fabricated a tale of needing £50,000 to pay off London gangsters who planned to kill him.

Verdict

Judge Charles Falk said Baker had “mercilessly and cynically” exploited the trust of his victims in pursuit of “pure financial gain”.

He continued: “You are a complete charlatan with a gambling addiction. You took all of their money and frittered it away. You were fully aware of the emotional and financial devastation you would cause, but you did not care.

“You are an entirely selfish individual that women need to be protected from.”