John Kavanagh, 58, began a relationship with a woman he met online before swindling her 84-year-old mum out of £22,000 – by inventing stories he needed cash for a fictional business
A woman in her eighties had her £20,000 life savings stripped after she agreed to help her daughter’s boyfriend who was actually a cruel conman.
John Kavanagh concocted a series of lies to both women which included him pretending to own a transport company which desperately needed cash. Newcastle Crown Court heard the fraudster told the daughter, who he met on dating website, that he needed money for a range of reasons including new tyres, wages, and insurance.
Both women have both since died. Judge Gavin Doig sentenced the 58-year-old, who has over 100 offences on his record, to four years in prison. Prosecutor Jane Foley told the court Kavanagh kept up the façade for months and after his arrest he told officers he saw his elderly victim as a “stepmother” who he “loved to bits.”
The judge told him: “It’s difficult to think of a more shameful offence for a person to commit than to strip an 84-year-old woman of her life savings, to carry on taking her money over a period of many months until she had no more to give. I’m only sorry (the victim) and her daughter aren’t here to see you receive the punishment you deserve. This offence arises out of a relationship you had with a woman. This began in late 2019.
“You started to tell her you had financial problems. You made up stories about a company you owned and that company was in financial difficulty. You asked her for help. She agreed to lend you money, however, that wasn’t enough.”
The woman then enlisted the help of her mother who agreed to help Kavanagh and wire him cash. Judge Doig continued: “(The complainant) offered to help you and lend you, over time, well over £20,000. By June 2020 she was left with £250 in her account. That had £26,000 in it when you began.
“Over that period you provided a raft of excuses for money, sometimes saying you needed new tyres, or on wages or for insurance. These were all lies designed to deceive (the victim) and defraud her of her life savings.”
The court heard that the relationship between Kavanagh and the victim’s daughter ended in the summer of 2020 but he continued with his deceit. Ms Foley said he told police he borrowed no more than ten to £12,000 which he intended to pay back. Ms Foley added: “He went on to say during his police interview that (the victim) was like a step mother to him and that he loved her to bits.
Kavanagh also tried to set up a company called Kavanagh KC Transport Ltd which was entirely fake. The court heard he was found to have contacted multiple other women online, in which he told them similar made up stories. In a pre-written impact statement made to the court, the elderly victim said: “This incident has left me in shock. I cannot believe I have been deceived in this way. I lent the money to John in good faith. I’m 84 and very vulnerable. Nobody has the right to make me feel this way.”
In her daughter’s pre-written statement, she said: “This incident has left me physically sick. I cannot explain how it made me feel inside. I’m worried what affects this will have on her health.” Kavanagh, of Abbingdon Square, Cramlington, Northumberland, denied wrongdoing but eventually pleaded guilty to fraud.
Laura Miller, defending, said: “The defendant is very sorry to the victim and to their family and he does not ask me and stand here and give any excuses for his actions. He wishes he could turn the clock back but knows he can’t. He wishes he could repay the money back but does not have the means to do so.”
