Romance fraudster faked mum’s loss of life, stated had covid and posed as nurse in £177k rip-off
Joshua Teale, 32, stole £177,000 from a man he met while working at Arla Foods in Leeds, faking his mother’s death and invented a nurse to keep the money flowing
Leeds Crown Court was told that his mother had not died (file)(Image: Huddersfield Examiner)
A Leeds man claims he will never enter another relationship after a romance scammer conned £177,000 from him.
The unnamed man initially encountered Joshua Teale, 32, while employed at Arla Foods. Teale, from Middlecroft Road, Belle Isle, began working there through an agency and the duo developed a friendship, frequently chatting. They lost touch when Teale departed his position after 18 months, but suddently met each other again purely by chance.
Prosecutor Jordan Millican informed Leeds Crown Court on Friday (July 17): “At some point in 2020 the complainant was in McDonald’s in Hunslet and saw the defendant. They spoke for a while and exchanged contact details.
Joshua Teale told many lies to gain money to cover his gambling debts (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
“The next morning, the defendant called the victim, saying bailiffs were at his address saying they were going to take all of his things if he didn’t give them £4,000. He [the man] was trusting and gave him the cash outside Morrisons in Hunslet. He made promises to pay the victim back.”
A month later, the victim once more received contact from Teale who this time claimed his mother had passed away and he required financial assistance, reports Leeds Live.
He alleged to have been relocated to Blackpool as the mental health services in Leeds were at capacity and he had been residing in a hostel. He stated he needed to cover legal costs for his mother’s property. However, the court was told Teale’s mother was very much alive.
Mr Millican stated: “He [the victim] agreed to pay around £1,900 a month. Most contact was over email or texts and he apparently received an email from the defendant’s solicitor. After doing checks on the solicitor, he found there was no match.”
The court was told that the victim believed Teale was heterosexual as he had mentioned previous girlfriends and was taken aback when he proposed they become boyfriends in 2022.
The court heard: “The victim was in shock and didn’t expect the relationship to develop that way. He said that over a few months they began talking every day over text and email. The defendant would refer to him as ‘Babe’ and sent images of a sexual nature. He sent images of himself and was made to feel like they were in a relationship.”
It was revealed that the man worked long hours and even took out a loan to continue paying Teale £1,900 who kept deceiving him and inventing new stories to elicit sympathy.
Teale then claimed he had contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalised in London due to lack of space in Leeds. The victim sent more money “to support medical bills” before being informed that Teale was under the care of a nurse named Julie.
Mr Millican explained: “He said that because he was so poorly the nurse had his phone and was replying to messages on his behalf. The man had never spoken with her, it was always over text or email.
“The defendant told the victim he had been moved to a hospital in Glasgow and needed money to pay Julie and medical bills.”
His web of deception finally unravelled on May 19, 2023, when the victim entered a Lloyds Bank to transfer funds to him. A member of staff grew suspicious after examining previous transactions to the same account and raised concerns.
Mr Millican said: “Since 2020, he had paid £130,000 to him. She put a marker on his record if he was to return to transfer money.
“Ten days later, he asked for more to be sent. Due to the flag, staff stopped the victim and took him into a private room and questioned why he was sending money to the complainant.
“Following banking protocol, the clerk called the police. Prior to them arriving, the victim called Julie and asked her to get the victim to call him back. He left a voicemail.
Around five minutes later, he called him back and the phone was handed to the bank manager and he confessed to it all being a lie. He stated he had a huge gambling debt.”
The court heard officers arrived and the victim told them Teale was his partner and he was in hospital and was sending him money. Officers spoke with Teale over the phone who stated his innocence, telling them he would pay the victim back. The victim refused to engage and officers left the bank.
The prosecutor added: “They got a call 30 minutes later to inform them that the defendant had turned up at the bank, despite alleging to be in Glasgow. He was arrested and stated he knew what he had done.”
The court was told the man he had deceived was “living in misery” and couldn’t afford electricity, working two jobs to repay what he owed.
Teale’s bank records revealed a “huge part of the money sent to him was frittered away on gambling websites.”
In a victim personal statement, the man informed the court he would never enter another relationship. He said: “This case is still something of a surprise to me even now because the last thing I expected is that this individual could turn into a criminal. I put my life basically on hold for absolutely nothing.
“They knew that the only thing I wanted was my own car and now that has been deferred until I have rectified my finances. The key saving grace I have is not classing this person as a former partner. A true partner wouldn’t even consider such disgusting and disgraceful behaviour. He told me his mum was deceased but she was and still is very much alive.
“He took everything from me and I worked every day to support him and his needs. I gave up three years of my life sacrificing everything I wanted to achieve and staved myself and lived on the bare minimum to support him. I lost a significant amount of weight and was running on a few hours sleep each day,”.
“I’m still not sure where all of that money has gone. This whole ordeal has left me with no trust of others, especially romantic relationships. I have been used and exploited and will never recover.”
The court heard Teale had four previous convictions for 11 offences, including one of fraudulently using registration marks from 2012.
In mitigation, Matthew Harding said Teale had pleaded guilty to fraud on the day of his trial. He said: “It came very much at the 11th hour, and that is something he expresses regret about. He knows he ought to have these proceedings to an end but it was perhaps the fear of the inevitable.
“This offending was born out of a long-standing addiction to gambling. It perhaps provides an explanation for it. This was not born out of a desire to enrich and live a high life, but of a compulsion – a compulsion of his own making, but an addiction.”
The court heard Teale had endured hardships in his early years. Mr Harding added: “He knows that he will go to custody today. There are, it seems, looking to the future, some stabilising factors…His future is not without hope. It is often said by defendants that this is the last time, but through me he expresses that.”
Recorder Paige sentenced Teale to five years and three months behind bars and ordered him to repay the total sum he took, over £177,000, to his victim. While imprisoned, he will return the money at £1 a month and that figure will be reviewed once he is freed.
The judge also imposed a restraining order until further notice, preventing Teale from contacting the victim.
The judge said Teale’s gambling dependency began with scratch cards and fruit machines 16 years ago.
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