A fraudster fleeced £7,000 out of a 69-year-old widow - lying to her that his mother had cancer.
The caring widow sympathised with Nabeel Adris’ sob story about his mother’s illness, a court heard.
She borrowed £1,000 to lend him after he claimed he was paying for his mum’s stay in Italy for cancer treatment.
The swindler told her the “wicked lie” having already conned her out of £6,000 for a bogus investment, Teesside Crown Court was told.
The deception left its victim, who lived alone in Redcar, so depressed she talked about suicide, said prosecutor Anthony Dunne.
Adris, 29, met the vulnerable and trusting woman when he cold-called her working for a glazing company.
He convinced her to buy new windows and doors which were legitimately fitted in 2011.
He carried on contacting her, arranging to meet and ringing ahead to make sure she was alone to isolate her, said Mr Dunne today.
Adris told the woman about a “quick turnaround investment” in 2012, saying: “You’ll be amazed by how much you can get.”
He claimed she could expect a £100,000 return from a £6,000 investment and persuaded her to hand over £6,000 cash.
Then he told her of his mother’s supposed cancer condition, the court heard.
He asked for a £1,000 loan, saying he had to fund his mum’s stay in Sicily for treatment and travel there himself.
The fraud victim couldn’t afford it, but felt sorry for Adris and borrowed the money for him.
He continually deflected her enquiries and fobbed her off with excuses and “fantastical stories” about the fate of the £6,000 investment, at one point claiming her money was at Wetherby police station.
He stopped mentioning his mother’s sickness once he had the money.
The victim was reluctant to speak to anyone about what was happening.
A daughter of one of her friends grew concerned as she saw the 69-year-old become depressed, not sleeping, eating or going out.
She reported it to the police in April 2013 after the victim talked of suicide.
When arrested, Adris claimed he honestly tried to invest her money with a man called Joe who disappeared with the money, and insisted he would have paid her back.
Adris, of Roman Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, admitted two counts of fraud, his first conviction.
Yet he claimed to have no memory of the lies about his mother and made a “complete denial” of the offences to a probation officer.
Graham Silvester, defending, said Adris threw himself on the mercy of the court and had “genuine affection” for the victim.
He said: “He accepts whole-heatedly that he conned this lady on two separate occasions.
“Through me he apologises to her for his behaviour, which was not at the outset based on malevolence or bad thoughts.
“He accepted he was misleading her on both occasions.
“He has difficulty coming to terms with the fact that he was lying about his mother’s terminal illness. He has no specific recollection of that.”
Mr Silvester said Adris had a “Walter Mitty attitude” and claimed he was told about the investment by someone else.
“Then surprise surprise, that person disappears off into the ether,” he added.
“He’s left holding the responsibility for someone he had genuine affection for. That’s when things go downhill. He was owing money to others.”
He said Adris brought shame on himself, his family and his community, and had £1,500 set aside to pay compensation.
“I think the defendant is living proof of what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive,” said Mr Silvester.
“What he was doing was robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said: “Unfortunately Peter was a 69-year-old woman.”
The judge accepted the defendant was capable of honest hard work and a dad to a young child.
“You are also an accomplished fraudster,” he told Adris.
He said Adris targeted an elderly woman knowing he could persuade her to part with money.
He added: “You told her a wicked, wicked lie that your mother was ill with cancer. She too had been close to cancer. She had the utmost sympathy towards you.
“You showed little or no remorse for what you had done.”
He said Adris made matters worse by maintaining lies about an honest investment and an ill relative after his guilty pleas.
He jailed Adris for two years and three months.
The Crown will call for Adris to pay compensation in a future hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
