'Human Chameleon' conman Paul Bint jailed

One of Britain's most notorious conmen has been jailed for three years after posing as the country's top lawyer to snare vulnerable women. Skip related content

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'Human Chameleon' conman Paul Bint jailed

Paul "King Con" Bint, 47, told some of his "conquests" he was Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC, while another thought he was a barrister called Jonathan Rees.

Bint boasted he owned a fleet of luxury cars including one used in the James Bond film Goldeneye, that he had socialised with former 007 star Pierce Brosnan, was friends with singer Robbie Williams and had once been married to comedy actress Sarah Alexander.

Dubbed "The King of the Swindlers" and "The Human Chameleon", the failed hairdresser went on to invent various homes, including a riverside penthouse, and claimed his parents were judges.

By the time his victims realised who Bint was, he had misused a credit card belonging to one of them and stolen a valuable bracelet from another.

Bint was convicted of five offences committed between April 27 and May 5. He confessed in court to a 30-year criminal career that began in childhood and included 155 previous convictions and 350 other offences to be taken into consideration.

The fraudster - once likened to Frank Abagnale Jr in Catch Me If You Can - impersonated a wealthy hotelier, aristocrat, ballet dancer, banker, doctor, playboy, police officer and property magnate during his crime spree, stealing thousand of pounds of cash and property.

Apart from conning his way into hospitals and actually treating patients, he also used his lies to flirt with Prince Andrew's ex-girlfriend Koo Stark and impress a former Miss Edinburgh while posing as a lawyer.

Sentencing, Judge Deborah Taylor said: "You misled two women into letting you into their lives and homes, into trusting you and allowing you to stay with them by giving wholly false details about yourself, and then you stole from them."