"Tamsin met Mike in the summer of 2022. He was a mechanic in a garage that she walked past twice each day between home and work. After a while, he'd call out good morning or good evening and she'd wave and smile back. Then the exchanges got a little longer. (Hard day? Looking forward to dinner?) Six months later, Mike and Tamsin exchanged numbers. Within two years, her life was wrecked."
"She had left her marriage, lost her home, quit her job, and sold her car and her phone, spent all her savings and racked up tens of thousands in debt. (Under her current repayment plan, it will take another eight and a half years to pay back her creditors.) Tamsin's story seems scarcely credible and she is mortified to have to tell it. She stumbles through, piles of notes on her lap and a support worker from Victim Support at her side."
"There has, however, been some progress in the understanding of in-person romance fraud, with the recent conviction of Nigel Baker. His 17-year sentence, for fraud by false representation, is believed to be the longest ever for this crime. Baker targeted single mothers, divorcees, and women who had been recently bereaved, including a divorced police officer and mother of two, and an accountant."
Tamsin entered a relationship with a man she met in 2022 and experienced two years of manipulation that destroyed her stability. She left her marriage, lost her home, quit her job, sold belongings, exhausted savings, and incurred tens of thousands in debt with a lengthy repayment plan. She feels ashamed and relies on Victim Support. Police indicate her experience would likely not succeed in court. Separately, Nigel Baker received a 17-year sentence for fraud by false representation after luring vulnerable women into nonexistent investment schemes, causing bankruptcy and a suicide attempt.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]