Lotto Conman Get Jail Term
13 Oct 2006

A 43-year-old Telford conman who lied about winning £4.5million on the lottery to impress a woman he met over the internet was today jailed for 16 months.

Charles Roger Proctor conned staff at the town’s HSBC bank into letting him open an account claiming he had won £4.5million on the National Lottery. He also talked two solicitors’ firms into helping him as he attempted to buy county properties.

The woman he wooed over the internet also became caught up in court proceedings and the owners of the properties were “massively inconvenienced”.

Today, Proctor, of Pickering Road, Trench, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after admitting to three charges of obtaining services by deception and 12 charges of obtaining property by deception.

He carried out most of his deception during April and May last year.

Mr James Dunstan, prosecuting, said 43-year-old Proctor had used HSBC cheques to pay for £1,400 worth of goods in shops and supermarkets in Telford and had employed borough solicitors Clarkes and MFG to carry out conveyancing work on his behalf.

Jailing Proctor, Judge Paul Glenn also made a confiscation order for the items paid for using the cheques.

He said: “This was premeditated and deliberate dishonesty on your part to impress a woman.”

Mr Simon Worlock, for Proctor, said his client had told lies because he wanted to impress Deborah Dashwood, a woman he had met over the internet.

He said: “He told lies as he wanted to impress her. He told her he had won the lottery and he allowed that to continue even after she had been arrested.

“He said he did it for love because Mrs Dashwood was the only woman who showed any interest in him.”

Judge Paul Glenn ordered Proctor to serve 10 months in prison concurrently for two charges of obtaining services by deception and 12 of obtaining property by deception. He was ordered to serve six months consecutively for obtaining services by deception, committed while on bail.