A conman claimed he needed cash for cancer treatment as he set up a fake Facebook identity to swindle thousands of pounds from a vulnerable pensioner. Dean Badder, 52, said he also needed money as he was in trouble with gangs.
After getting his hands on the pensioner's cash, Badder spent it on a static caravan. His lies cost his victim almost £50,000 and he almost lost his home, NottinghamLive reports.
It began when Badder, of Swindale Close, Gamston, set up a Facebook profile and pretended to be a young man in his twenties. Going under the name "Eddie" and using a stolen picture to complete his profile, Badder struck up a close bond with the 76-year-old man online.
Andy Peet, prosecuting at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (June 29), said: "Messages were sent via Facebook that Eddie was repeatedly in trouble with the law, repeatedly in trouble with gangs and, in order to assert his safety, payments had to be made in the thousands."
The victim, believing 'Eddie' was in need and danger, he withdrew cash and gave it to the defendant. This spanned 18 months to two years and amassed Badder £27,730.
Right up until the point the charges were put to Badder, the victim still believed Eddie was a real person - he was duped to that extent, added Mr Peet. The cash was spent on the caravan, an indication said Mr Peet that, "this was entirely motivated by greed".
Then Badder, acting as himself, claimed he had cancer, which was the second offence of fraud he pleaded guilty to. He said there were no drugs on the NHS to treat his type of cancer and the victim agreed to pay weekly amounts, which added up to £9,420, to supposedly buy treatment.
The final charge of blackmail was the meanest of all the offences, said Mr Peet, where Badder sent the victim a picture of a penis and asserted that - without payment of £600 - he would be in trouble because the penis was of someone who was underage. Police then became involved.
The victim, who lives alone and not an extravagant spender owns his own home through sheer hard work, the court heard. Financially the offence had a massive impact on him. He was worried he might lose his house but he has not.
Shannon English, mitigating for father-of-three Badder, said he is a hard-working family man. "Unfortunately, on this occasion, he made a huge mistake," she said. "He knows custody is inevitable"
Judge Rupert Mayo sentenced him to a total of four years and nine months, referring to the fake identity offence as the defendant behind the scenes as a "puppet master" acting as Eddie and asking for money for various emergencies; such as being trapped by gangs and being pursued by police by police during his life.
He had never met "Eddie" - he did not exist, added the judge. "There is no doubt Mr Badder that what you did to the victim was catastrophic and will have a lasting affect on him and was wicked - as the calculation you made would be he would fall for it and pay you the money".
The blackmail offence, he said, was disturbing and vile - a crime against someone he had already extracted some money, and to use the street language he was, "kicking a man when he is down".
