india

Updated: May 03, 2019 16:32 IST

An Indian-origin man, who used romance to con six women after meeting them online, has been jailed for six years and one month following a five-year investigation into his actions that included wining and dining the victims in the UK.

Keyur Vyas, 32, pretended to be in relationship with the six women and claimed to be an affluent person working in finance. He used common elements such as religion and wished to start a family as part of his attempts to defraud them of over £600,000.

Scotland Yard said that between 2014 and 2017 Vyas was a recruitment agent. He befriended the women online and after gaining their trust would encourage them to invest in various business ventures for a large return.

“Only the ventures didn’t exist and he was gambling the money away. He even continued to put pressure and was abusive to the victims to continue to invest more money in order to get their money back. He used fear tactics and stated that if they went to the police they would lose all their money,” police said.

It was only when the six women did not receive their money back they began to report their concerns to police.

“Vyas used a tried and tested technique to commit fraud. He used the trust he had gained to get them to invest in non-existent companies. He went as far as having fake contracts drawn up with outlandish conditions, but essentially he used the relationship to get their money,” detective constable Andy Chapman said.

“Vyas was selfish and cruel in his actions by emotionally involving the victims and conning them out of a combined loss of approximately £639,133.00. Unfortunately, we see cases like this fairly often,” Chapman added.

Vyas pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation and was sentenced in the Kingston Crown Court.