A PROLIFIC fraudster targeted women on online dating sites and subsequently fleeced them out of thousands of pounds.

Gary Rogers, who is also known as Richard Robinson and many other aliases, “preyed” on the women in order to take advantage of their trust.

He promised them they would get married and would buy a dream home together.

Romance

He exploited their desire for romance and took huge sums of money from them as he embroiled them in his tangled web of fake businesses.

The 64-year-old motor dealer claimed to run garages such as South Coast Jags at Angmering, but would instead strip people’s cars of parts then fob the owners off with excuses about family emergencies.

He was jailed for ten years at Hove Crown Court for his offences.

They included two counts of fraud against women in East Preston and Haywards Heath, as well as motor vehicle theft, witness intimidation, and two assaults.

In one incident where one of the women confronted him, he struck her and pushed his thumb into her throat.

He then put his other hand over her nose and mouth before she managed to break free from his grip.

The court was told he defrauded one woman out of £111,000 and the other of more than £100,000.

Detective Constable Noel Simmonds said: “Richard Robinson or Gary Rogers is a practised conman and abuser who carefully groomed and isolated his victims over several months.

“He convinced them that he was the only person they could trust before taking everything from them and then threatening, belittling and degrading them in the hope that they would not have the courage to step forward.

“Fraud committed by someone in an intimate relationship with you is especially devastating.

“It is a betrayal by the one person in the world you should be able to trust most to protect and cherish you.

“We would like to praise the victims for their outstanding strength and bravery in supporting this case for more than two years, including several months where there appeared to be no progress at all.”

He was previously convicted of four “romance frauds” which took place in North Wales in 2013.

After being released on court bail conditions for the latest offences, he went on the run, and convinced police in Wiltshire that he was not a wanted man.

But later he was linked to a fake financial services company and two car garages and was arrested.

Information

DC Simmonds added: “I believe that there may be other women that Robinson has met both while living in Sussex and while on the run across the country, and who will have information about him they could share with us.

“In such cases we often find that people do not come forward.

“That is because either they still believe lies they have been told or are too embarrassed to admit what happened.

“However, it is important to stress there is no shame in being fooled in this way.”