by DAN NEWLING and BETH HALE

Last updated at 01:57 04 May 2007

A 13-year-old boy who lives with his grandmother has been exposed as one of Britain's biggest Internet conmen.

The boy earned more than £250,000 by posing as the boss of several multinational companies selling vacuum cleaners, stationery and office supplies.

Many of the goods were never dispatched, but the fraudster used the cash to revel in a luxurious lifestyle way beyond his years: he wore designer suits, drank vintage champagne and travelled only by chauffeur-driven limousine.

He even employed a personal bodyguard, flew abroad on business trips and claimed he was going to buy a private jet.

The astonishing case echoes the film Catch Me If You Can (itself based on a true story) in which Leonardo DiCaprio plays a teenage con artist who makes millions posing as an airline pilot, doctor and lawyer.

And just as in the film, the boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - became criminally obsessed with appearing wealthy and successful.

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A source close to the police investigation said: "Despite coming from a relatively humble background, he became an outrageous snob. He claimed public transport was 'for commoners'.

"He would not eat sandwiches unless the crusts were cut off. And once he started making money he refused to attend school unless the local council paid for him to go to a private school.

"He is a total bully and an extremely arrogant young man."

This week, Balham Youth Court in South London heard that the boy - now 16 - embarked on a three-year fraud spree after his mother died of cancer.

He received a £16,000 inheritance, some of which he spent on crime books that detailed the methods of successful conmen.

Then, working from his bedroom at his grandmother's house in Chiswick, West London, he set up a website which purported to sell plasma screen televisions at vastly discounted prices.

Despite not supplying the goods, the money started to roll in and he gave up going to school in order to expand the "business".

He eventually set up a stationery and office supply firm, a dating website and a modelling agency.

The teenage conman quickly outgrew his grandmother's bedroom and moved into a succession of offices - including one in Mayfair, one of the most exclusive areas of Central London.

However, he would never stay longer than two or three months and would always move out without paying the rent. He also took on staff, employing dozens of people after placing advertisements in a Jobcentre. Unsurprisingly, many are still waiting to be paid.

Trading Standards and the police were inundated with complaints and the boy was initially arrested in October 2004.

But he was given bail and went on to reoffend - a pattern that repeated itself four times over the following two years.

A police source said: "It was like he was addicted to conning people. And whenever he was confronted with what he did, he showed absolutely no remorse. He even appeared to enjoy the police and court attention."

On Tuesday the court heard that between 2004 and 2006 the boy racked up unpaid bills of more than £19,000 at three luxury cab firms.

He also made bulk purchases on credit from expensive stores and took so-called "business trips" to Paris and Edinburgh.

On one occasion he even claimed he wanted to buy an aeroplane and walked around a private jet salesroom, afterwards revealing that he loved the way the staff 'sucked up' to him.

He also spent his money hiring women from escort agencies, taking horse-riding lessons and going drinking in exclusive London clubs.

Yesterday a police source revealed that despite the boy's intelligence, his lack of a formal education was exposed in emails he sent to one of his victims, which were littered with simple spelling and grammatical errors.

A police source claimed he could be very convincing nonetheless.

He said: "He is 6ft tall and looks a lot older than he is. He was able to rent the business addresses by putting down a deposit and then simply disappearing when the rents were due.

"When finding staff he would use different Jobcentres, so that he was never blacklisted."

In court on Tuesday, he admitted 16 charges of fraud totalling £50,000 but a further 105 charges, worth £135,000, were taken into consideration. The court was told that the boy's latest project is an online lingerie store, which his solicitor insisted was a genuine business.

Despite this, the boy was warned he could face a custodial sentence when he returns to court later this month.

Yesterday, one of the teenage conman's former employees revealed how he owes her almost £4,000 in backpay.

Claire Young, 26, from Mortlake in South-West London, was until yesterday working as the teenager's personal assistant.

She said: "He used to take me to a polo club and expensive bars in the City. He would take his friends along, too, saying he would pay for everything. I just thought he was a very generous boss.

"I feel like a fool because all the time he was just conning me. My boyfriend even bought two printers from his website but they never arrived.

"But he always managed to convince me when I asked for my money. There was always an excuse like: 'I couldn't get to the bank. It was shut'."

Following his conviction, his victims are now likely to club together to bring a civil court case in order to recover their money.

Although it is not known how much money he has, the teenager is thought to be named as the sole beneficiary of his grandmother's £900,000 house.

Last night three of the fraudster's websites remained up and running, but he told the Daily Mail that many of his customers had received their goods, boasting: "I have many very happy customers."

Asked whether he would repay those who weren't so pleased, he said: "That's up to the courts."

However, he did admit that considering buying a private jet was "a bit silly - I was only 13 at the time".