Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Man jailed for three years for defrauding woman of her life savings

Man jailed for three years for defrauding woman of her life savings

A security guard who posed as a businessman to con a lonely woman in a romance scam has been jailed for three years.

Qaiser Saeed, 40, of Botwell Lane, Hayes, was sentenced on Tuesday (7) at Isleworth Crown Court for fraud by false representation, the Met Police said.


In May 2013, Saeed had befriended a 39-year-old woman via an online dating site. In four months, he constructed a series of lies including that he was a single man who owned his own company, the court heard.

He also claimed that his bank account had been frozen as he was a victim of fraud. Saeed convinced the woman to transfer large sums of money into his account that he claimed would pay his employees’ wages until his account was unfrozen, the Met Police statement added.

Saeed was a married man with children who worked as a security guard.

According to the police, the victim had given him £47,650 in total.

Saeed was previously found guilty of the offence by a jury at Barbican Nightingale Court on September 3, 2020.

Detectives first arrested him on April 10, 2014, on suspicion of fraud but after he was freed on bail he fled the country to Pakistan.

Five years later, on September 30, 2019, he flew into Heathrow on a student Visa and was arrested at the airport. Saeed was charged the following day with fraud by false representation.

“Qaiser Saeed wilfully deceived the victim telling lie upon lie in order to deceive her into parting with her money. Scammers, such as Saeed, are skilled liars who weave a complex web of falsehoods in order to manipulate vulnerable or trusting people, playing on their emotions before taking their money under false pretences," said Detective Sergeant James Harbour.

"Anyone can fall victim, regardless of age or gender. It is not unusual for victims to feel too embarrassed to tell police or a trusted person, or they may continue to believe that the suspect is telling them the truth as the reality of being scammed by someone they cared about is too difficult to contemplate.

He also urged people who have fallen victim to this type of fraud to get in touch with the police.

More For You

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'

Keir Starmer speaks with medical staff during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom Hospital in Epsom, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'


HUNDREDS of millions of pounds could be saved and patient waiting lists reduced as prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body overseeing the state-funded health system.

In a speech delivered in Hull, Starmer explained his decision to streamline the National Health Service's management structure: "I can't, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

The lunar eclipse of Friday may not have been as dramatic as the total eclipses seen in other parts of the world

iStock

Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

In the early hours of Friday morning, stargazers across the UK were treated to a partial lunar eclipse, with many enthusiasts rising before dawn to catch a glimpse. The celestial event, which saw the Earth's shadow partially covering the Moon, began at 05:09 GMT. Although only partial for most UK observers, it still presented a spectacular sight, with western parts of the country and regions further afield, such as the Americas and some Pacific islands, witnessing the eclipse.

For some, like Kathleen Maitland, the experience was magical. Stargazing from Pagham Harbour in West Sussex, she described the beauty of watching the Moon gradually darken and transform into a reddish hue, with the sunrise unfolding behind her. The eclipse gave rise to the so-called "blood Moon," a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, turning a dusky red as sunlight is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

From L- Reetu Kabra, Maya Sondhi, Shobu Kapoor and Meera Syal during Sangam Foundation's Women's Day celebrations.

Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

HUNDREDS of women gathered for the International Women's Day celebrations of Sangam Foundation last week. Prominent actresses Meera Syal, Shobhu Kapoor and Maya Sondhi have attended the event, a statement said.

The British Asian celebrities shared their experiences of breaking into an industry rife with misogyny and prejudice. The industry veterans also talked about challenges they faced in a male-dominated field.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal
Democrats with £23,000

Sudhir Choudhrie

Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal Democrats with £23,000

BUSINESSMAN Sudhir Choudhrie has emerged as one of the biggest British Asian donors to the Liberal Democrats in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission.

Choudhrie, currently an advisor on India to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, contributed on six different occasions to the party between October and December 2024, totalling more than £23,000. He contributed in a similar fashion in the previous quarter as well.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunak is ‘content in his MP role
and has no desire to move to US’

(From left) Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murty, and parents Usha and Yashvir Sunak

Sunak is ‘content in his MP role and has no desire to move to US’

RISHI SUNAK “loves being an MP” and has no intention of flying to California to begin a new life in America, as his enemies alleged during the general election campaign last year.

And, unlike Boris Johnson, he is not striving to be prime minister again, even though he is still only 44.

Keep ReadingShow less