Fake MI5 agent jailed for fraud

A man who conned his girlfriend into thinking he was an MI5 agent has been jailed for stealing £14,000 from her.

Shop assistant Wayne Gouveia, 25, of Bicester, managed to convince the 19-year-old girl her boss was trying to poison her with anthrax in her mail.

He got her to sign a fake version of the Official Secrets Act, took charge of her post and stole her bank account details and pin numbers.

Gouveia pleaded guilty to fraud charges and was given an 18 month sentence.

I suspect you got something of a thrill out of the story that you told Recorder John Hardy QC

At Oxford Crown Court, recorder John Hardy QC told him: "You are in my view not a fantasist, not a Walter Mitty-like character, but a manipulative and capable conman."

The court heard that Gouveia began a relationship with his victim in September 2007 when they worked in shops a few doors apart in Turl Street, Oxford.

He gave her many gifts before spinning an elaborate web of lies, claiming to be an MI5 agent.

To consolidate his story, he staged a hotel room break-in while they were on holiday.

Gouveia appeared with a bloody face, claiming to have been injured by the robbers as he tried to stop them.

Previous convictions

The court heard his girlfriend was left "terrified" and too frightened to leave her home.

But the 19-year-old shop assistant's suspicions grew when she caught Gouveia sending himself text messages on behalf of his fictional boss.

Passing sentence, the recorder told the fraudster: "You pick your victims with care and pray on the vulnerable.

"Your conduct was calculated and I, for one, suspect that you got something of a thrill out of the story that you told."

Gouveia , of Shannon Road, had previously been convicted of theft, eBay fraud and various other deceptions.