Nigel Baker conned five divorced single mothers and encouraged them to hand over their life savings which he then used to fuel his gambling addiction
Britain’s ‘biggest romance fraudster’ who preyed on divorced single mothers he met on dating sites before persuading them to hand over hundreds of thousands of pounds each has been jailed.
Gambling addict Nigel Baker, 56, bet away almost £1million of life savings from the vulnerable women he met on sites such as Plenty of Fish by claiming he was an online bookie instead of a gambler and ensuring them their money was ‘safe’.
Described as a ‘charlatan’ by the judge, Baker targeted five middle-aged women and encouraged them to hand over their life savings that he then squandered on betting platforms such as Betfair.
One account funded by a victim and controlled by Baker racked up losses of almost £4million, a court heard.
The women included police officers, businesswomen and accountants and were promised married or a shared future by Baker when, in fact, he was overlapping their relationships and dating more than one woman at a time. His victims spoke of feeling ‘humiliated’ and ‘ashamed, disgusted and used’ by Baker.
A jury unanimously convicted him of 18 counts of fraud by false representation, spanning eight years between 2012 and 2020, following a month-long trial earlier this year.
Victims told the court he fabricated desperate stories to extract cash, claiming he could not feed his children, needed to fix his father’s boiler or pay vet bills for his dog. One woman said Baker warned her that a London gang would kill him unless she transferred £50,000. Another victim, an NHS nurse, gave him savings which were meant to pay for her child’s wedding.
His Honour Judge Charles Falk jailed him for a total of 17 years – which is believed to be the longest sentence imposed in Britain or romance fraud.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that other victims have since come forward, with alleged losses pushing the total far beyond £1million, although those cases were not part of the trial.
Judge Falk explained Baker was a gambling addict who was far less successful than he wished he was.
He said: “You are a complete charlatan with a gambling addiction. You took all of their money and frittered it away. You were fully aware that they would lose all their money and of the emotional and financial devastation you would cause – but you did not care.
“You are an entirely selfish individual that women need to be protected from.”
Judge Falk told Baker the fault of the lost money laid “entirely at your door”.
He said: “You [presented] yourself as a slightly vulnerable and hurting divorced ex-husband, a loving family man with children. You portrayed yourself as a successful businessman with healthy prospects, looking for a special woman to comfort you [and] become your partner.’
“You told the women everything they wanted or needed to hear, each woman perceiving you, gratefully, as their second chance at life-long happiness, when you were merely seeking to exploit them.
“Your purpose was pure financial gain. You didn’t care a jot for any of them, and you mercilessly and cynically exploited [their] trust.
“When they had lost everything – or you thought they had lost everything – you would discard them and move on to your next victim.”
Judge Falk added: “The fault that they lost their money is entirely at your door and your in-depth ability to manipulate human emotions and the nature of a loving partner.”
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