Serial dating site conman back behind bars after more 'fairytale' frauds
A serial romance fraudster is back behind bars after scamming more vulnerable women out of thousands of pounds.
Raymond McDonald, 51, was jailed for four and a half years after sparking up relationships with multiple women and spinning them a web of lies. It came just seven and a half years after he was locked up for similar offences against divorced and widowed women, some from the Teesside area.
In their cases, he posed as a high-flying property developer, hoodwinking victims and causing them to lose possessions and even their homes. He tricked victims out of more than £30,000 to fund a lavish lifestyle, splurging on holidays and gambling trips.
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The resulting seven-and-a half year jail sentence, handed out at Teesside Crown Court in 2016, when he was 43, did little to deter him. The devious conman, now 51, has left three more women reeling, one of whom was even drawn into a "fake marriage" to him.
Chronicle Live reports how his true identity was uncovered through Clare's Law and on a social media site called ‘Are we dating the same guy?’, where multiple people exposed him as a fraudster. He had claimed to be a probation officer who could access cheap goods through his line of work, manipulating his multiple ‘girlfriends’ into sending him thousands of pounds.
He also asked for funds in promise of buying a house together and going on holidays. One of the women he was in a false relationship with had even been taken to Dubai by McDonald where he pretended to marry her in an unlawful ceremony.
In March he was arrested and later charged with three counts of fraud by false representation. He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court in April where he pleaded guilty to all offences. And on Friday, McDonald, of no fixed abode, appeared back at the same court where he was jailed for four and a half years.
Newcastle Crown Court heard McDonald made contact with the first victim on Tinder last December and from their first date he began to misrepresent who he was and what he did, He said he was in a special division of the Army and trained soldiers from all over the world.
The court heard he quickly involved the woman financially and on their second meeting spoke about using their savings to buy a flat together. Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, said: "She accepts she was completely drawn into the fairytale he was selling her."
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He asked her for a loan to pay a fee to withdraw his money. She handed over around £3,000 for various reasons and items. In a victim impact statement, she said: "I had feelings for him. He painted this fairytale picture of how our lives would be."
She said she was "physically sick" after finding out his previous convictions when she made a Clare's Law application. The woman added: "He knew I came from a domestic violence background and preyed on me. I'm now emotional and cry non-stop, sometimes crying all night. He made me feel I was the most stupid person alive."
She said she ended up having to pay back money to friends and family and she even bought a wedding dress because of his false promises. She said she also had to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases after finding out he had been seeing multiple women simultaneously. She added: "That disgusts me. I will never trust a man again."
McDonald met the second victim on Tinder in January this year and said he was a retired army officer who was now working as a probation officer. He made promises which weren't kept, such as taking her to a Tyson Fury fight in Dubai when in fact they visited Dubai but didn't go to the fight.
He spoke about buying a house in Killingworth and a camper van and there was a promise of marriage and she accepted his proposal. There was also a promise of a £4,000 ring which never materialised. She paid hundreds of pounds towards the camper van and house and other items.
He told her they would get married in Dubai. She said it was like a safari trip and an Arabian man appeared to marry them but she did not sign anything and received no paperwork. Her friend ended up contacting her saying they had seen a post about McDonald on the Facebook page "Are we dating the same guy".
There were pictures posted on there by another woman showing the same camper van she had been shown and the lodge in Northumberland where they had stayed. There were even pictures from Dubai taken during their trip.
In a victim impact statement, she said it had been a "fake marriage" and added: "I will never trust another man again. My confidence and self-esteem is lower than it's ever been. He has caused emotional heartbreak."
McDonald met the third victim on Badoo in March this year. He told her he was a probation officer and said he had a side line in buying items from police auctions and selling them on. During the time they were in what she thought was a genuine relationship, she gave him £2,740 in cash to use in the auction business. She was promised a return on her investment which never materialised.
The woman's niece became suspicious and found the "Are we dating the same guy" Facebook page, which outed him as a fraudster. In a victim impact statement, she said: "I never had any suspicions I was being lied to and conned. I couldn't believe he had lied to me. I feel so stupid and can't believe I was so gullible. I find myself second guessing everything people say."
She added that she's a single parent and had been saving up to take her children on holiday for the first time in years. She now doesn't know when she will be able to do that as she faces paying back her losses for three or four years.
The court heard McDonald has 58 previous convictions, including 40 for fraud and similar offences and 12 for theft. He had defrauded several other women going back to 2013.
Matthew Purves, defending, said: "The greatest mitigation is the fact he has pleaded guilty." He added that McDonald had had a career in the armed forces and worked in close contact security abroad for more than 20 years.
McDonald's latest three victims were conned out of more than £6,000 but McDonald was not ordered to pay any compensation as he is on benefits. As well as the new jail term, he was also given lifelong restraining orders in respect of each of the victims.
Detective Constable Saad Sheban, who led the investigation, said after the case: “McDonald is a serial scammer, who routinely preys on vulnerable women who are just trying to find a life companion. He clearly has learned nothing from his previous spell in prison and has slipped right back into his old ways.
“The victims have been incredibly brave throughout the investigation, and I want to thank them for speaking up – by reporting what happened to them they can help prevent it happening again.”
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