Fake MI5 spy victim warns others

Fake MI5 spy victim warns others

A woman conned out of £14,000 by her former boyfriend who made her think he was an MI5 agent has urged his other potential victims to come forward.

Wayne Gouveia, of Bicester, convinced Leanne McCarthy, 21, that her boss was trying to poison her with anthrax and that he was a spy saving her life.

Gouveia, 25, of Shannon Road, pleaded guilty to fraud charges and was given an 18-month sentence in March.

Ms McCarthy urged other women tricked by Gouveia to contact police.

Shop assistant Gouveia began a relationship with Ms McCarthy in 2007 when they worked in shops a few doors apart in Turl Street, Oxford.

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

There are other people out there who have been affected by him Leanne McCarthy

She said: "We were talking one night when he said: 'This isn't my only job'.

"He came out and confirmed he was an undercover police officer working in Turl Street and our shop was under surveillance for an armed robbery and I wasn't allowed to tell anybody.

"A few months later he told me my boss may be involved.

"He scared the life out of me.

"My hair through the stress started to fall out and I was being sick all the time."

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

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

Different name

Eventually, Ms McCarthy told him to leave after he had threatened that she could be prosecuted or killed.

She told the BBC: "It was only as we were packing up his things we found all my mail for the last year which he had actually hidden."

She said she still believed the house was bugged and she was at risk but her parents reported Gouveia to the police.

"I've now actually found out that there are other girls that he's done this to," Ms McCarthy said.

"Some of them have only just come to light recently because he was using a different name.

"I've found out he was using the names Wayne Johnson, Luke Johnson and Mr Smith.

"There are other people out there who have been affected by him."

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