Image: Merseyside Police.
A bogus campervan salesman has been jailed for more than five years after stealing £36,000 from a “vulnerable” pensioner.
Andrew Evans, 55, told the elderly man that he worked for a company that he had already dealt with and that he could get a new motorhome for £38,000, with £13,000 cash-back.
Evans emptied the pensioners bank account of approximately £36,750 between July 2020 and March 2022.
He also tried to apply for a loan in the pensioner’s name and took him to Cash Convertors on several occasions to sell high value items including a telescope and binoculars, before taking the money made from the sales.
A branch of Santander on the Wirral raised concern over transactions being made by the pensioner, who was in the company of Evans.
The bank have since agreed to reimburse Evan’s victim £36,750 due to his vulnerability.
A statement given to the court by Evans’ victim said: “I have suffered psychologically as I would wake early hours in the morning thinking how can I get out of the situation.”
“It was during March 2022 that I became worried that I could lose my house.
“It came to a point that I could not afford to heat my house and was living in a single room.”
Following his arrest, Evans admitted stealing the money and he pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.
He appeared in court on the 18 August 2022 to be sentenced for four separate offences and was jailed for a total of five years and three months.
Detective Constable Kevin Reppion said: “This was a particularly nasty and callous crime.
“Evans gained the trust of his victim by pretending to be something he wasn’t and lied to him for nearly two years by making him believe he was ‘selling’ him a non-existent camper van.”
How to report a scam: Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud you can contact them on 0300 123 2040 or go to www.actionfraud.police.uk.
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