Fraudster faked cancer and mum's death to con girlfriend out of £70k life savings

A brazen fraudster conned his girlfriend out of nearly £70,000 after claiming he had and his mum had died. Paresh Patel, 44, even begged his partner for cash for his mum's - despite her being alive.

The crook, from , duped the woman into believing they were together but repeatedly came up with extreme fake situations to use her for cash. Patel even lied about being "blindfolded and kidnapped" in a fake ransom lie. The addict used repairs, solicitors, bailiff fees and made up that his sister's ex-husband had held her for ransom as fake reasons for cash.

Patel met his victim in January 2022 through work before they "struck up a relationship and swapped personal phone numbers," according to prosecutor Elizabeth Power, reports,

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Patel's victim said her mother died just before the pair struck up a relationship, and the fraudster asked for money just a week into their romance. Patel claimed he owned a gym and needed money to pay for bills and maintenance. He continued to "ask for more and more for various reasons" while promising to repay.

The fraudster was sentenced to 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court after he admitted to fraud by false representation. Shocking details of the horrifying extent of Patel's manipulation for money were revealed in court. The victim handed over her life's savings but the romance crook demanded more cash, even telling the woman to take out a .

Patel also brazenly claimed he was willing to convert to for her. The prosecutor said: "He asked her when she got paid and when she told him she had no money he said 'what's the point in carrying on with the relationship if you're not there for me when I need money'.

"He told her to get money from her family and apply for a second loan. She was already in debt."

Power added: "However, when the time came to repay her, the defendant delayed and prevaricated, making excuses. She never received the return of her money. She states they became close on the phone, and she fell in love."

The victim recalled there was "always an emergency", saying she felt she "couldn't refuse". One of his final lies included claiming he needed money to see his "critically ill mother who was on end of life care", and then money to pay for her funeral after she had supposedly passed away, which she had not.

Patel's shocking web of lies unravelled in September 2022 when the victim's brother and father found out what was happening and demanded Patel repay the £69,368 total he had swindled. But he only continued to fob them off with lies and excuses, including claiming he had cancer and needed money for treatment.

Lucinda Wilmott-Lascelles, defending, told the that father-of-four Patel was "mortified", "ashamed" and wished to apologise. "He asked for the money in order to pay back what debts he had incurred. He thought he was good at it but began losing and then began chasing the loss."

Judge Heidi Kubik KC, passing sentence on Friday, ruled the case was so serious it warranted immediate imprisonment and stated he "took advantage of her naivety".