A couple have been left struggling to repay £4,500 of debt after an amateur footballer conned them into acting as guarantors on a £3,000 loan.
21 year-old Jamie Tipton from Cornwall went from door-to-door telling people he had secured a football scholarship at an American college and needed sponsorship, as reported by regional news site, This is Cornwall.
However, the scholarship was non-existent and once Tipton had scammed Michael Barber and his wife into acting as guarantors on a loan, he spent the cash on a £2,100 car, his mobile phone and Chinese takeaways, amongst other items.
The football fake has been given an 18-month community sentence at Truro Crown Court, with 220 hours of unpaid work. He has also been ordered to pay the couple £2,000 in compensation.
The court heard how the Barbers originally gave the young man a £3 donation, before he began to visit them more frequently, offering to do odd jobs for them, such as photocopy leaflets for their business and arrange adverts for them on a pirate radio station, which he claimed was also sponsoring him.
Prosecuting, Philip Lee said that Tipton never arranged the advert, and may not have delivered the leaflets. “The Barbers did not envisage any of this because they trusted him and are now saddled with a debt they can’t afford. It is affecting their lives and their health,” he said.
A builder working at the Barbers’ house was also conned out of £100, Mr Lee added.
Defending, Maurice Champion said that Tipton would sell his car to help compensate his victims.
However, Judge Elwen was scathing in his assessment of the footballer fraudster, saying that he wanted to send him to jail, but “sentencing guidelines tie my hands”.
He continued: “I believe this is the sort of offending which because of its sheer nastiness ought to warrant immediate custody. You have been calculating and dishonest. You are seriously devious, dishonest and mendacious.”
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