A ‘charming’ fraudster who swindled thousands from five single mothers has been jailed for 17 years.
Nigel Baker, 56, muttered ‘Happy Christmas’ as his victims and their families gasped, and he was taken away by a dock officer.
The conman targeted divorced single mums on dating apps such as Plenty of Fish and convinced them to hand over hundreds of thousands of pounds before betting away their savings.
In total, one betting account paid into by one of the victims and used by Baker had losses of nearly £4 million.
Baker, from Romford, Essex, swindled victims ranging from police officers to successful businesswomen and accountants, a trial heard.
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Other victims defrauded by dad-of-two Baker have also come forward, the court heard, but their allegations were not heard at his fraud trial. It is understood their alleged losses take the total far beyond £1million.
Judge Charles Falk labelled Baker a ‘charlatan’ as he jailed him for 17 years, thought to be the longest sentence ever imposed for romance fraud in Britain.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard betting ‘obsessed’ Baker encouraged the women to take out loans of as much as £200,000 and sell their homes to invest in his purported betting business.
He told the complainants he was an online bookie and could earn money to fund their future together if they gave him money to ‘trade’ with on betting platforms, promising ‘zero risk’.
But despite the victims insisting the sums they gave were loans and not gifts, they never got their money back.
They said Baker also threatened that their relationships – three of which overlapped – would end if they couldn’t provide more money.
Once they were out of money, Baker went back on dating apps to search for new victims to target. Baker was unanimously convicted of 18 counts of fraud by false representation following a month-long trial earlier this year.
The offences related to five women spanned the eight years between 2012 and 2020. Victims told the trial Baker would ask for money for a variety of reasons – claiming he didn’t have enough money to feed his kids, needed to repair his father’s boiler, or even to pay vet bills for his dog.
One victim told the court Baker once told her a London gang would kill him if she didn’t transfer him £50,000.
Another victim, who is an NHS nurse, gave him savings which were meant to pay for her child’s wedding.
Judge Falk told Baker he had ‘mercilessly and cynically exploited’ the trust of his victims: ‘You [presented] yourself as a slightly vulnerable and hurting divorced ex-husband, a loving family man with children.
‘You portrayed yourself as a successful businessman with healthy prospects, looking for a special woman to comfort you [and] become your partner. [You promised] each woman either marriage or permanent partnership and a shared rosy future.’
He added: ‘Your purpose was pure financial gain. You didn’t care a jot for any of them, and you mercilessly and cynically exploited [their] trust.
When they had lost everything – or you thought they had lost everything – you would discard them and move on to your next victim.’
One of the women – a divorced police officer who handed Baker nearly £80,000 – held back tears as she described how she felt ‘ashamed, disgusted and used’.
‘He is a dangerous predator who has no morals or regard for anyone. The realisation has left me feeling violated in a way that is difficult to put into words. The knowledge that he touched me makes my skin crawl,’ she said.
Another victim, an accountant and grandmother, in her 60s, said Baker had ‘humiliated her’. The mother-of-two had taken out a £200,000 bridging loan against the sale of her home in order to fund Baker’s gambling.
‘He does not deserve anything more than to be punished for the pain, suffering and extreme financial losses that he has caused to each family he destroyed through his lies and deception,’ she said.
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