Conman faked own death
A serial conman from Wigan charmed a woman out of more than £10,000 before faking his own death in an e-mail, a court heard.
Shaun Southworth wooed Valery Navarra with tales of being a doctor in Latin America and having a small fortune in offshore savings to his name.
But in truth he was a confidence trickster from Worsley Hall who relied on duping a string of unsuspecting women to fund his lifestyle, a jury was told.
Lincoln Crown Court heard how Ms Navarra, 41, became "smitten" with Southworth after meeting him on an internet dating site in March 2006.
The 47-year-old from Closebrook Road, Worsley Hall, impressed her by claiming to have worked as a psychotherapist in Mexico and banked 300,000 pounds in an offshore account.
But in time he began to make repeated demands for money from her, eventually forcing her to run up more and more debts, it was alleged.
Mr Gareth Weetman, prosecuting, said: "Hundreds of pounds became thousands. When the money ran out he persuaded her to take out personal loans."
Later, as the pressure on him to repay the money mounted, he sent Ms Navarra a text-message in which he claimed to have broken his back.
She then received an e-mail, supposedly from Southworth's personal assistant, in which it was announced the man she loved was at death's door.
The message solemnly informed her: "Mr Southworth is residing in a hospice due to a tumour on his heart and does not have long to live."
A few days later another e-mail, again purporting to be from personal assistant Kirsty Bain, announced Southworth had lost his fight for life.
It told Ms Navarra, of St Helens: "I am sad to tell you he passed away. He left instructions that I make settlement to you immediately."
But Mr Weetman said: "Kirsty Bain was not personal assistant to Shaun Southworth. By his own admission, 'she' was Shaun Southworth.
Click next page for more ..."The court heard how Southworth had earlier cheated another victim,
Alison Rayner, 38, out of her life savings of more than 18,000.
The mother-of-two was "totally captivated" and began a relationship with him after divorcing and starting a new life in Gainsborough, Lincs.
Southworth took her for lunch after she had the "misfortune" of meeting him in September 2003, Mr Weetman told the jury.
He used the same story about Mexico and money but claimed he was having problems accessing his wealth and needed cash, it was alleged.
Mr Weetman said: "Over the next few weeks and months Ms Rayner's 18,000 dwindled. Most of that went straight to Southworth."
The court heard Ms Rayner became increasingly suspicious of Southworth and eventually ended their relationship ended in June 2004.
Mr Weetman told the jury: "You will hear that there was no pot of gold, no repayment, and that Ms Rayner is still waiting for her money."
Southworth's other alleged victim was hairdresser Moira McLachlan, 54, who in April 2006 also met him through an internet dating site.
The widow saw thousands of pounds run up on her credit cards after he moved into the home she shared with her two children, it was claimed.
Mr Weetman said: "The relationships with Ms Navarra and Ms McLachlan overlapped. Before too long she invited him into her family home.
"While living under her roof he made a number of applications for credit cards in her name. Again the money was not paid back to her."
The jury was told Southworth also duped small businesses, banks and mail-order companies.
Mr Weetman said: "We can say that this is a question of thousands upon thousands of pounds. The best estimate is 48,000."
Southworth denies three charges of theft, nine of deception and one of attempted deception between September 2003 and October 2006.
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