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06/09/2005
Life term for 'MI5 Spy' conman
A former barman and car salesman who posed as an MI5 agent to con his marks out of almost £1 million, has received a life sentence.
Robert Hendy-Freegard, 34, from Blyth in Nottinghamshire told his victims that they were being pursued by the IRA. Some of his victims had to carry out bizarre missions over his ten-year reign of terror.
Believed to be one of the few people successfully convicted of kidnapping-by-fraud charges and theft, Hendy-Freegard was described at his trial as an "evil" conman.
The cash he procured from his eight victims funded a jet-set lifestyle with fast cars, a designer wardrobe, and holidays around the world.
Hendy-Freegard first started conning his victims in 1992, some were professionals and included a solicitor, a psychologist and a company director.
Sentencing Hendy-Freegard at Blackfriars Crown Court, Judge Deva Pilly said that he was a "confidence trickster who had not shown a shred of remorse or compassion" and that he was a "substantial danger to the public".
After the eight-month trial, Hendy-Freegard, who faced a total of 24 charges, was convicted on two counts of kidnapping, ten counts of theft and eight of deception.
(SP/KMcA)
Robert Hendy-Freegard, 34, from Blyth in Nottinghamshire told his victims that they were being pursued by the IRA. Some of his victims had to carry out bizarre missions over his ten-year reign of terror.
Believed to be one of the few people successfully convicted of kidnapping-by-fraud charges and theft, Hendy-Freegard was described at his trial as an "evil" conman.
The cash he procured from his eight victims funded a jet-set lifestyle with fast cars, a designer wardrobe, and holidays around the world.
Hendy-Freegard first started conning his victims in 1992, some were professionals and included a solicitor, a psychologist and a company director.
Sentencing Hendy-Freegard at Blackfriars Crown Court, Judge Deva Pilly said that he was a "confidence trickster who had not shown a shred of remorse or compassion" and that he was a "substantial danger to the public".
After the eight-month trial, Hendy-Freegard, who faced a total of 24 charges, was convicted on two counts of kidnapping, ten counts of theft and eight of deception.
(SP/KMcA)
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