A serial fraudster has been jailed for conning victims out of thousands in an elaborate catfishing dating scheme.
Ian Henderson, 40, swindled multiple victims across Scotland after matching with them on online dating sites and later posing as a concerned parent or police officer, claiming the unsuspected victims were talking to an underage child.
He then demanded they pay out hundreds in ‘solicitor fees’ to avoid court proceedings.
Henderson, originally from Ayr but now an inmate of Edinburgh Prison, admitted to 17 charges of fraud and extortion between March 2019 and July last year at Ayr Sheriff Court yesterday.
One poor victim parted with £2935.83 after he matched with a woman on Tinder, who he thought was called Jade.
He was then deceived into thinking he was chatting to a child and was told if he did not resolve the matter he would be arrested.
Another victim coughed up £1935.70 in ‘solicitor fees’ after being duped in a similar scenario.
Depute fiscal Mhairi Mair told the court: “The victim asked the age of the female as he believed that she was younger [than she said] and stated that he did not speak to children.
“He received a message from the child’s mother stating that she was going to report the matter to the police."
The victim then received a phone call from a withheld number asking for solicitor fees.
Ms Mair continued: “20 minutes later, ‘Wendy’ [fake child’s mother] sent a message saying ‘Hi, police say you want the matter dealt with because you have a kid on the way and you don’t want your life wasted.’”
Henderson also managed to get a free stay at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow at the expense of one victim, who not only forked out £450 in the catfishing scheme but also drove to personally deliver the money.
This victim was convinced he was talking to ‘Debbie’, a tall, slim female with long dark hair from Kilmarnock.
After exchanging numbers, Henderson called and identified himself as a police officer stating that the mother of a 13-year-old had been in touch asking the victim to pay solicitor fees.
Ms Mair said: “The victim panicked and agreed to this and arranged to drive to Glasgow to deliver the fees.
“He drove to the Marriott Hotel at 8am. He was told by the accused that the mother would be in a black Audi, which there was one in the car park.
“The complainer began counting the money but the accused approached and told him not to bother counting.
“The victim then received a message from the girl’s mother demanding to secure a hotel booking.”
Defending Henderson, solicitor Steven Maxwell said Henderson was “not the only person who was benefitting from his criminal activities” but was “the only person facing the consequences.”
He added: “He was essentially using this money to fund, perhaps, a life that he otherwise couldn’t have afforded.”
Sheriff Desmond Leslie told Henderson: “It doesn’t take me to tell you that this is serial extortion on an industrial scale and you have preyed on people’s vulnerabilities.
“You knew exactly what you would do. You had done it previously and you had served a significant sentence for it, but that didn’t deter you from engaging in this.
“For the period of time that you were in contact with these people, you will have caused them considerable amounts of fear, anxiety, worry and even suicidal thoughts.
“You extorted considerable amounts of money from them.
“You have pled guilty, you knew your back was against the wall and you had no other alternative than to tender pleas of guilty.”
Henderson was jailed for 36 months, backdated to September 27, 2021.
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