Married Yorkshire father claimed to be heir to £30m fortune in romance fraud

But Yorkshire construction industry worker Jamie Parker was in reality a married father-of-three who was spinning a complicated web of lies to con thousands of pounds out of a woman he met at work.

Parker, aged 33, told Anna Dacko he was going through the courts to access his parents’ £30 million estate, after both had died.

Ms Dacko, who he had met when they were both working for Sheffield-based construction firm Amber Precast, which is based in Darnall, became romantically involved with Parker in 2018, with the pair at one stage living together, heard Sheffield Crown Court.

She gave him over £20,000 as he told her sob stories about being unable to afford his children’s school fees, needing to pay for an operation, and needing money to pay legal fees associated with the progress of his fabricated £30m legacy.

Parker, from Trundle Lane, Fishlake, is now starting a 26-month prison sentence, after he was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court, and has been told to repay all the cash he took from Ms Dacko.

Parker pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation at a previous hearing at Doncaster magistrates court earlier this year.

Passing sentence in Sheffield, Recorder Mark Cooper said: “Over a period of time you convinced her to hand you over £21,000 by bank transfer. You did so by convincing her that you were struggling to release money from your ‘late' parents estate, that you said was worth over £30million."

The judge said the first time Ms Dacko sent Parker money was when he told her that he did not have enough cash to pay £5,300 for his children’s school fees. On another occasion he asked her for £1,400 that he claimed he needed for a surgical procedure on his leg. He visited her on crutches, and had bandages put on his leg – but there had been no operation.

On another occasion, he said, Parker told Ms Dacko he could not get a loan due to a county court judgement, and needed £10,000 to pay for probate on his inheritance. He showed her documents he had faked in the name of Doncaster solicitors Atherton Godfrey, and persuaded her to borrow the money for him.

By July 2019, she had given him £21,143.52.

“It appears some was used to fund foreign holidays,” said Recorder Cooper.

The judge described the crime as sophisticated, with the stories about the death of Parker’s parents and the faking of solicitors letters.

He handed Parker a 26-month prison sentence. He also ordered him to repay the full £16,385.11 he still owes, having already started paying some of the money back, with all the payments to be made within the next three years.

The court had earlier been told that Parker had even made up stories about his parents, who were still alive, claiming they had died. He told Ms Dacko that his mother had suffered from multiple sclerosis before her death.

Stuart Bell, prosecuting described the case as a ‘romance fraud’.

He had told the court how Parker had gone to the trouble of creating complicated letters allegedly from solicitors breaking down costs that he had to pay them for work on probate. He said they looked very official, giving the name of a solicitor, and a legal number. Items included solicitors letters at £82 per letter.

Mr Bell said: “She said she loved him and didn’t want him to become bankrupt.”

There was evidence of four trips abroad using the money, he said.

In June 2019, Ms Dacko became suspicious. Parker said he would pay her back in full.

The following day she received a phone call from Parker’s wife, who told her he was not divorced and his parents were still alive. There had been no operation.

Mr Bell read out a statement from Ms Dacko describing the impact the crime had on her.

She said: “This incident has had several negative impacts. There was the financial impact of losing £16,000. I’ve not been able to buy simple items of furniture, and have at times struggled to meet loan repayments.

"I had just bought my first house. He made me feel sorry for him, and told me how difficult his childhood had been. I didn’t know what to think when I found out the truth.

"This has made me feel I can no longer trust people.”

She said she was left so suspicious by what had happened to her that she had checked her current partner’s house was really his. She had lost confidence and belief in herself, she said, as well as suffering anxiety and panic attacks. She has received support from specialist services.

In defence, Laura McBride said Parker had paid £1,000 back, and had subsequently started paying more back by transferring his wages to her account.

He still owed her £16,385.11.

She said Parker had stopped taking drugs and alcohol, accepted what he had done had been callous and opportunistic, and was ashamed. He was aware of the emotional and financial harm he had caused to the victim, as well as to his own wife and family.

She had asked for him to be given a suspended sentence, adding he had been offered a job, and which would have enabled him to pay the debts off more quickly, and asked for him to be given credit for his guilty plea.

She said Parker’s wife, a trainee nurse, was standing by him.