A male escort from Manchester travelled to North Wales for a 12-hour session worth £2,000 - only to realise he'd been scammed after he returned. The escort was one of a number of victims to be conned out of £13,000 by a 52-year-old man using cheques which bounced.
Michael Nathan Goldsmith had been committing fraud offences for 20 years, Caernarfon Crown Court heard. He had suffered the 'trauma' of losing his parents while also living with several personality disorders - but a judge insisted people working as escorts deserved protection, North Wales Live reports.
Goldsmith, from Menai Bridge, booked the session with a Mancunian escort on December 5, 2020. The court heard that the session was to include consensual sexual intercourse, which took place as planned.
However, when the escort returned to Manchester and tried to cash the cheque, it wasn't honoured. This breached an existing Criminal Behaviour Order not to pay by cheque, from a previous offence.
On a second occasion, the court heard Goldsmith engaged the services of another male escort on July 18, 2021. Goldsmith agreed to pay £1,500 for consensual sexual intercourse.
This happened, but the following day Goldsmith offered to pay a further £5,000 if he stayed overnight. But these two cheques were not honoured either. This was a further breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order.
On a third occasion, Goldsmith booked another male escort on August 9, 2021. They agreed a fee of £1,500 for sexual services. Goldsmith took the sedative GHB and was behaving 'oddly and erratically'. The male escort decided not to take it himself.
Goldsmith offered the man a further £3,000 to stay, but neither cheque for £1,500 or £3,000 was honoured. This also breached a Criminal Behaviour Order.
Soon afterwards, police found the defendant with cannabis and GHB. Prosecutor Brian Treadwell read out victim statements.
The first male escort, from Manchester, said Goldsmith had 'lied to him over and over again'. His dealings with the defendant had affected him physically, psychologically, emotionally, financially and sexually. He feels he has lost his 'dignity and decency'.
The second victim said he felt 'gullible, stupid and thick'. He confided in a work colleague who asked him: "You actually fell for that?" which made the victim feel even worse. He said he is warier and listens out for scams because 'he has been a victim of one'.
Sentencing, the judge Her Honour Nicola Saffman told the defendant said there had been multiple victims and the offences involved a total of £13,000. The incident involving drugs had been 'sophisticated'.
She said: "I'm satisfied you do suffer not from one mental disorder but from several mental disorders, the most difficult of which are personality-based disorders." Although she accepted he had suffered trauma in his own life she said he deserved to go to prison.
Goldsmith, of Beaumaris Road, Menai Bridge, admitted two counts of obtaining services dishonestly, two breaches of a criminal behaviour order and possessing Class B and Class C drugs. Her Honour Saffman sentenced Goldsmith to a total of five years and six months in prison, while also giving him a 10-year order banning him from making payment for goods or services by escorts or prostitutes by cheque, among other conditions.
She jailed Goldsmith for three years for breaching a criminal behaviour order, plus three years concurrently for a similar offence. And she imprisoned him for two years and six months, to run consecutively, for obtaining services dishonestly, and a further two years and six months for a similar offence to be served concurrently. There was no further penalty for the drugs offences.
A North Wales Police spokesperson said: "Goldsmith has, to our knowledge been committing fraud offences for the last 20 years, and despite being the subject of orders prohibiting him from doing so, he has continued to write cheques for substantial amounts, in payment for sexual services which he knew he did not have the funds to honour."
He added: "We welcome today’s sentence, and hope that it will prompt a change in Goldsmith’s behaviour. However, we will be making every effort to inform the relevant online communities and websites so that they are able to protect themselves from any potential future offences of this type."
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