Marksbury man who stole £48k from women online jailed

Sebastian Timmis stole more than £48,000 from women, and then used it on gambling

A fraudster who groomed women online to scam them out of more than £48,000 which he then used to gamble has been jailed.

Sebastian Timmis, 29, pressurised victims on dating apps into sending money on the pretence it was urgently needed and but did not pay it back.

Police said Timmis, from Marksbury, Somerset, "preyed on [victims'] generosity".

He was jailed for three years and four months at Bristol Crown Court.

Timmis targeted women from across the country including Bristol, Cheddar, Devizes, Bournemouth, Malvern, Cardiff, Birmingham and Cheltenham.

He admitted 10 counts of fraud by false representation between May 2018 and September 2020.

PC Rory Everitt, from Avon and Somerset Police, said Timmis had used tactics "typical of romance fraud cases involving dating sites", where people are pressurised into providing money.

"Timmis scammed these women out of thousands of pounds and made promises he knew he could not keep about returning their money," he said.

"He clearly had no regard for his victims' feelings and targeted people he knew were caring. He preyed on their generosity."