A charming and ruthless British conman who posed as a spy to extort huge sums from a string of vulnerable victims was jailed for life on Tuesday.
He had persuaded his victims to think they were on the run from terrorists.
Robert Hendy-Freegard, a semi-literate former salesman and barman nicknamed ”The Puppetmaster” was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court in central London after being found guilty of a string of crimes related to deception.
The sentence brought to an end a convoluted and often bizarre eight-month trial in which the jury were told of the enormous influence 34-year-old Hendy-Freegard managed to exert over his seven victims.
One student, John Atkinson, who fell victim to the conman, handed over £ 300 000 after being told he had been recruited to help fight Northern Irish terrorists.
Hendy-Freegard persuaded Atkinson to let himself be repeatedly beaten up as a ”test” to prove he was tough enough, before abandoning university to live on the run for three years, fleeing imaginary terrorist gangs.
Five of the conman’s victims were women, most of whom fell in love with him. One, a just-married secretary, left her husband and eventually ended up destitute, sleeping on park benches.
While those conned suffered appallingly, Hendy-Freegard — who lived by the motto ”Lies have to be big to be convincing” — used their money to enjoy luxury cars, expensive meals and five-star holidays.
Judge Deva Pillay said the effect of the conman’s actions on his victims, at least two of whom contemplated suicide, had been appalling.
”It was plain to me as I listened to the evidence for many months that you are an egotistical and opinionated confidence trickster who has shown not a shred of remorse nor compassion for the degradation and suffering to which your victims were subjected,” he said.
The court had heard how Hendy-Freegard began the deception in 1993 when he worked as a barman in Wales, targeting three students at a local college.
One of these, Sarah Smith, recalled incidents such as being taken to a so-called ”safe house” with a bucket over her head, having to hide in cupboards to avoid visitors, and spending three weeks in a locked bathroom with little to eat, convinced she would be shot by a sniper if she dare leave.
Detective Sergeant Bob Brandon, who led the police case against the conman, said he had enjoyed a millionaire’s existence while forcing his victims to live ”in abject poverty”.
”By pretending to be a spy, he achieved power and control over people’s lives. He was not a spy, he was a sad cruel individual,” he said. – AFP
