Romance fraudster jailed after swindling woman he met on Tinder out of £50,000

A serial romance fraudster has had more than two years added to his sentence after swindling a woman he met on Tinder out of £50,000.

Peter Gray, 35, was jailed for 56 months last year for defrauding four women of about £80,000 by making loan applications in their names.

At the time, women said Gray, of Mirfield, West Yorkshire, secretly took photos of their driving licences and bank cards while on dates with them after they had matched with him on dating app Tinder.

On Wednesday Gray was jailed for a further 28 months at Leeds Crown Court for defrauding an ex-partner and a male friend from his golf club.

Judge Ray Singh said Gray had “managed to dupe (the victim) into believing (they) were in a loving relationship” before “she was fleeced to the tune of £50,000”.

The court heard the pair matched on Tinder, and over more than two years he asked her for thousands of pounds in loans that were never paid back, took out a car loan and a phone contract in her name and used her credit card without permission.

He even borrowed £2,000 from her brother to buy her an engagement ring which was only valued at £35, a judge heard.

Prosecutor Jordan Millican said early in the relationship Gray asked the woman to take out a loan of £17,000 for him to put towards a deposit on a second flat, telling her he had the money in his savings but could not access them at the moment and needed it to be a quick sale.

The woman ended up having to clear most of the loan herself, the court heard.

Gray also asked the victim for a loan of £6,000 for a Tesla electric car that never arrived, and £10,000 for a lease extension so he could remortgage a property in both their names.

A victim impact statement from the woman read in court said she thought she had been in a loving relationship with Gray before being approached by his former employer and advised to use Clare’s Law, which gives people the right to ask police for a background check on their partner.

She said: “Before I left Peter I asked him why he had done this to me. He told me it was because I was so kind. This made me greatly question my own character.”

The court heard Gray also defrauded a friend from his golf club after asking him for a loan of £25,000, before then taking out a fraudulent loan in his name.

In his victim impact statement, the man said: “Peter doesn’t care for anyone or for their lives – he just wants to ruin everyone and to get as much money off people as possible.”

The court heard Gray, who attended the hearing via a video link from prison, later told police he estimated he had spent more than £100,000 over eight years on gambling.

The defendant, who pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud, has 12 convictions for 27 offences dating back to 2011, including 14 for acquisitive or dishonesty offences, it was said.

Jailing Gray for a further 28 months, Judge Singh told him: “The truth is you are a manipulative serial fraudster, preying in particular upon vulnerable females.

“Nothing I say or do to you, I’m afraid, is going to make you change.”

He went on to say: “(The victim’s) life has been completely and utterly destroyed by yourself, as indeed have other victims.

“You have left a trail of destruction behind you.

“People are having to rebuild their lives, they are looking over their shoulder every time a letter comes through the post – is this another outstanding debt, had you taken out any more money?”