Plumstead man faces jail after �1.5m scam
A conman admitted being involved in a �1.5m scam in which he claimed he had won the Spanish lottery and duped victims out of thousands of pounds to secure his winnings, a court heard.
Arthur Stimpson of Cherry Tree Road, Plumstead, claimed to some victims he needed to borrow money to pay various fees to release his winnings.
He told other victims he needed cash to buy chemicals to wash the currency as it was stained in dye. In one case alone he borrowed �80,000 and promised to repay the cash plus �80,000 interest.
In another case he said he had to get the chemicals from Switzerland and promised to repay any money borrowed with �90,000 interest.
He also conned a number of other victims out of money by claiming he wanted to buy land at Acle so as to secure a better price for other land he was going to sell and needed to borrow �150,000.
You may also want to watch:
In another scam he borrowed �150,000 to buy land surrounding his house and claimed he was waiting subsidy payments for grazing land on Halvergate Marshes.
Another victim was duped into parting with �55,000 in order to release funds from his father's estate.
Most Read
- 1 Stunning images capture Cromer in the snow
- 2 Norfolk's first mass Covid vaccination centre to open in food court
- 3 Londoners fined for travelling to stay at second home in Norfolk
- 4 Several burst mains in town leave homes without water
- 5 Sport and TV stars heading to Norfolk for new festival
- 6 Organisers 'hopeful' Cromer Carnival 2021 will be able to take place
- 7 Risk of flooding after parts of Norfolk see 8cm of snow
- 8 Drivers face non-essential travel fines after spate of snow crashes
- 9 In pictures: Children make the most of weekend snow
- 10 Man in 20s dies and three hurt as Audi crashes into wall
In all cases Stimpson promised big returns for borrowing the cash and even offered collateral such as four oil paintings or land he said he owned at South Walsham, which lulled his victims into thinking their cash was safe.
Stimpson, 56, appeared at Norwich Crown Court last Wednesday and admitted 13 counts of fraud and two offences of forgery. The forgery charges relate to him forging a signature on a land registry legal charge on his home and a deed of transfer title in September 2009.
He was warned by Judge Alasdair Darroch that he faced a lengthy term in jail. The court heard that he had repaid �150,000 of the cash back that he had taken. His case was adjourned until September 9 for sentencing.