Conman who cheated women out of £40,000 posing as injured war hero banned from dating sites for life
Michael Brain told victims, including a 75-year-old woman, he was an injured ex-Royal Marine to con them into giving him money
A CONMAN who posed as an injured war hero to cheat lonely and vulnerable women out of £40,000 was banned from dating websites for life yesterday.
Charmer Michael Brain, 47, told his victims, including one 75-year-old, he was an ex-Royal Marine sergeant major waiting for a war wound payout.
He used the “carefully honed deception” to cheat £40,000 from lovers he met on sites such as Plenty of Fish.
Between 2012 and 2015 up to 28 women handed over £40,000 which he spent on bills, cigarettes, booze and gambling.
He also got hold of their pin numbers and plundered their accounts.
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Brain, of Plymouth, admitted fraud and theft.
Many of his victims were in the city’s crown court to see him jailed for four years and given the lifetime ban under a Crasbo, or criminal anti-social behaviour order.
Brain had been jailed for 70 weeks in January for stealing £3,000 from lovers with fake cheques