Fraudster who swindled £360k from friends jailed

Damien Tideswell spent more than £180,000 on gambling websites

A man who swindled more than £360,000 from a couple and used the money to fund a gambling habit and "lavish lifestyle" has been jailed.

Damien Tideswell admitted defrauding the pair, who were his close friends, after he asked them for help when he told them his bank account had been frozen.

Tideswell, of Hale Drive, Liverpool was in fact using the money on online gambling websites, car hire, holidays and designer clothing, Cheshire Police said.

The 42-year-old was sentenced to six years and six months in prison at Chester Crown Court after admitting a charge of fraud.

The court heard how Tideswell had told his victims he had £3.5m in his account, but it had been frozen by HMRC due to an outstanding balance, the force said.

He had asked the couple if he could borrow money in order to repay a fine and assured them he would repay it as soon as his accounts were unfrozen.

Forged documents

Tideswell provided the victims with forged documentation, fabricated imagery, and orchestrated fraudulent phone calls to deceive them, police said.

However, he never repaid any of the money and was continuing to ask for more cash and the couple reported the matter to police.

He was arrested in December 2021 and later charged.

After an investigation of Tideswell’s bank accounts, police found the majority of the money he had received had been spent on gambling, with £181,890 paid out to online betting companies.

He had also spent more than £22,000 on car hire, £19,000 on hotels in the UK, almost £10,000 on bars and restaurants, nearly £4,000 on holidays abroad and £4,000 on designer clothing.

'Web of lies'

Following Tideswell’s sentencing, Det Con Gareth Yates said he had fed his friends "a web of lies" and asked them to make a total of 42 payments between August 2017 and February 2019.

He added: “In reality, Tideswell had squandered all of their cash.

"As a result of his actions, the victims have now been left financially destitute, unable to enjoy the comfortable retirement that they had worked hard for all their lives.

“While we have not been able to recover any of the money they have lost, I do hope that the fact that Tideswell has finally been held accountable for his actions will provide them with some closure.”

Tideswell's sentence also included four months for failing to attend his original sentencing date.