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.

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.

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.