Jailed serial conman 'a menace'

Bint admitted in court to having had a 30-year criminal career

A conman with a long history of posing as wealthy and important people to win the affections of women has been jailed for three years.

Northampton-born Paul Bint, 47 - dubbed "King Con" over his 30-year criminal career - was convicted of offences including theft and fraud last week.

Southwark Crown Court heard Bint, of no fixed abode, convinced one woman he was the director of public prosecutions.

Judge Deborah Taylor said Bint had an "appalling record" and was a "menace".

Barrister's laptop

Bint had been found guilty of five offences committed between 27 April and 5 May.

They included two for fraud by false representation, involving cheating a taxi driver out of a £60 fare and using a credit card belonging to one of his female victims.

He also stole a bracelet from another woman, walked off with a barrister's laptop from the robing room at St Albans Crown Court and test-drove a £59,000 Audi R8 while disqualified from driving.

Jurors cleared him of seven counts of credit card fraud and four of driving while disqualified, one on the judge's direction.

He was a conman, a confidence trickster, a man who, it seems, had no legitimate source of income other than state benefits and what he could scavenge off his victims Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones The many faces of a serial conman

During his trial, the court heard Bint confess to a 30-year criminal career involving 155 previous convictions and 350 other offences that had been taken into consideration.

The jury heard he had previously impersonated a wealthy hotelier, an aristocrat, a ballet dancer, a doctor, a police officer and a property magnate, resulting in the theft of thousands of pounds of cash and property.

He would often make contact with his victims via lonely hearts adverts or the internet.

Sentencing Bint on Tuesday, the judge said of his latest offences: "You misled two women into letting you into their lives and homes, into trusting you and allowing you to stay with them by giving wholly false details about yourself, and then you stole from them.

"The effect on both of these women was not merely this loss of the bracelet, DVDs or money, but, as they told the court, the feeling of violation of their homes and perhaps of their peace of mind."

'Coping mechanism'

The judge added: "You are clearly a very plausible liar and, as a result, a menace to anyone who comes into contact with you."

In addition to a two-year driving ban, Bint will also be required on release "to only use your own name, Paul Bint".

Bint had denied all the latest charges and told the jury he had been genuinely looking for love with his latest victims.

During evidence, he also said he had been abused as a child.

Gavin Hulme, defending, told the court: "He has described the feeling of taking on [the identity] of a successful, professional personality and that it makes him feel worthwhile. It is a coping mechanism to help him deal with his past."

Prosecutor Riel Karmy-Jones said: "He was a conman, a confidence trickster, a man who, it seems, had no legitimate source of income other than state benefits and what he could scavenge off his victims, principally women, by abusing their confidence and trust."