A MAN who defrauded women he met online has been sentenced to six years and one month in prison.
Keyur Vyas told women he met online that he was an affluent man working in finance and proceeded to defraud them of more than £600,000.
Vyas was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday (1).
An investigation into his activities was launched in October 2014 and officials found that he had committed fraud against six women.
He befriended women pretending to build a relationship with them, and once he gained their trust, Vyas encouraged them to invest in various business ventures for a large return.
Vyas gambled the money away, and pressured the victims to invest more money.
The women contacted the police when they didn’t receive their money back.
Detective Constable Andy Chapman of the Central Specialist Command said: “Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies.
“He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money”.
“Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them out of a combined loss of approximately £639,133.00.
“Unfortunately we see cases like this fairly often and my advice to anyone in an online relationship whatever the nature is never to send personal details or money to someone who you have never met in person.”
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