Jail Time for Liar and Con Man

18 months' jail for 'liar and conman' Is this news story about conman Robert Apple?

Wayne Scott ... broke terms of suspended sentence with offences of fraud

Published Date: 15 December 2009
By Ian Duncan
A Scarborough man dubbed an "inveterate liar" and an "irrepressible conman" has been jailed after breaking the terms of a suspended prison sentence – by committing offences of fraud against local shopkeepers.
Wayne Scott, 37, of Albemarle Crescent, appeared before York Crown Court for sentencing, having previously admitted seven charges of fraud.

In February of this year Scott was sentenced at York to 26 weeks in custody, suspended for two years, for making false representations by posing as Dwaine Johnson – better known as the former wrestler and actor The Rock – in order to obtain match tickets from Everton Football Club.

He also made similar representation to obtain memorabilia and gifts from Manchester United and admitted posing as another person to obtain telecommunication serves from BT.

However, on Friday Nicholas Barker, prosecuting, told the court that since the imposition of the suspended sentence, Scott had paid for £1,300 worth of items in several shops with cheques that later bounced.

Following that case, when Recorder Ewan Duff called Scott an “inveterate liar” and an “irrepressible conman”, Scott, speaking outside the court, said: “I feel as though I have spent half my life in prison. I have not enjoyed it and I won’t be coming back here, or going back inside there.”

On Friday he told Judge Stephen Ashurst :”All I want to do now is put all this police, courts and prison behind me. I know I have let my family down and I don’t want to do that any more. I’ve done wrong and I admit that.”

Judge Ashurst told Scott he had been a fraudster, “for many years conning people out of their property in your own name and often using aliases”.

He added that it was obvious that Scott was a complex character and intelligent. The judge said that it was also obvious that he had channelled his abilities in the wrong direction.

The suspended sentence was activated and Judge Ashurst imposed a further 12-month sentence to be served consecutively – 18 months in total.

Taryn Turner, mitigating, said that Scott was a “curious individual”, but he was aware that he had done wrong and appeared to “have now run out of both luck and steam”.

Does conman Robert Apple belong in Jail?