ABSTRACT
John has just finished a 4-year prison sentence for fraud, bigamy (being married to more than person) and false pretenses. John’s conviction for fraud and false pretences was the result of him passing himself off as an executive of a major charity and doing a television appearance to appeal for funds. His charm, intelligence and apparent knowledge of the work of the charity persuaded the television company to give him airtime and the appeal was successful. John had planned the money-raising carefully and opened bank accounts in a name very similar to that of the charity, and had forged documents at the bank in order to enable him to do this. Again his charm, combined with an ease of manner, smart appearance and financial acumen, had enabled him to open these accounts. After the viewers had watched his heart-wrenching appeal, the funds rolled in. However, one of the real executives of the charity saw the programme and John was arrested and eventually convicted. Very little of the money was recovered – he had covered his tracks well.
