Love rat stockbroker, 29, who seduced wealthy businesswoman in her 50s to con her out of £500,000 in bogus investment scam is jailed for three years

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A love rat stockbroker who seduced a wealthy businesswoman in her 50s only to con her out of more than £500,000 through a bogus investment scam has been jailed for three years.

Sam Whittingslow, 29, from Hyde, had known successful businesswoman Jill Kelly since he was a child - but managed to con her out of thousands by setting up online alter egos promising to 'double your money returns'.

In reality Whittingslow was only an assistant at a firm of stockbrokers, but he managed to defraud hundreds of thousands of pounds out of Ms Kelly and her friends by using two fake accounts.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard last week how the conman was paid more than £700,000 by his victims, spending their money on holidays abroad and online gambling, while only returning around £96,000.

Love rat Sam Whittingslow, 29, from Hyde, was paid a total of £775,600 by his victims, but only repaid £96,941 under the guise of a return on investment. A police investigation found the conman was spending his victims' money on holidays abroad and gambling online 

Ms Kelly, who is in her 50s and was described as a 'successful businesswoman with substantial assets' agreed to invest into five bonds and was then persuaded into investing in further bonds for her grandchildren.

Altogether she lost £551,300 in the scam. 

She later said she had been become 'friends' with one of the bogus investment managers - not realising she was communicating with Whittingslow himself. 

Ms Kelly also unwittingly recommended Whittingslow to a businessman who lost £60,000 and to a father and daughter who invested more than £80,000 only to lose £28,200. 

Police alerted to the scam discovered Whittingslow was paid a total of £775,600 of which only £96,941 was repaid under the guise of a return on investment.

In a statement to detectives she said: 'He has lied to me about so many things, I don't know where to start. I feel like I have been groomed, betrayed and taken advantage of. He seems to takes pleasure out of manipulating people.'

Whittingslow conned £500,000 out of wealthy businesswoman Jill Kelly, a grandmother he at one point started an affair with, having known her since he was a child

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Whittingslow, of Hyde admitted five charges of fraud by representation between September 2017 and May 2019 and was jailed for three years.

The conman. who worked in the compliance department at Manchester stockbrokers Pilling and Co had known Ms Kelly since he was a child and targeted her in 2017 after sending her a message via Facebook.

Kate Hammond prosecuting said: 'It is clear she was targeted and the two started to meet, it developed into a sexual relationship for a time. She was asked to lend him money which was repaid and Jill was invited to take out investments through his contacts, which she did.'

Using fake accounts named Karen Wilson and David Brad, Whittingslow convinced his victim to spend thousands of pounds in bonds and then additional investments for her grandchildren.

She went on to spend nearly £500,000 investing in various fake schemes.

When she tried to change her mind about the investments, Ms Kelly was told to pay an additional £80,000.

The court heard another victim Nigel Williams was persuaded to invest with Whittingslow after he and his wife met Ms Kelly during a holiday in India in 2018. He paid £71,800 into two bank accounts set up Whittingslow but was only paid back £11,200.

Anthony Orrell and his daughter and Grace paid £80,000 but got back just £51.800. A friend of Mr Orrell's invested £21,500 expecting to get back £39,500 two months later but received nothing.

Whittingslow tricked his victims by setting up two fake online profiles that claimed to be senior investment managers

Whittingslow was eventually reported to police when investments failed to pay out on the maturity dates. 

He also used 'invested' funds received from Ms Kelly to pay out the other victims.

A total of £414,395 is to be repaid repaid to the victims.

Sentencing Whittingslow, Judge Paul Lawton told Whittingslow: 'The scale of your fraud was both breathtaking and audacious, and you will have been properly advised that there is a heavy price to pay. 

'You knew Jill Kelly was a wealthy lady and persuaded her to take out several investments with you. 

'You put her in touch with a work colleague who did not exist and ultimately she invested into bonds on the promise of significant returns.

'It is quite clear she had complete confidence in you and was completely under your influence. When you were confronted you admitted almost immediately that the money had been washed away in virtual casinos and online gambling. 

'The total loss of £678,659 was a breathtaking amount of money. 

'Fraud is not a victimless crime and anyone reading the victim impact statements in this case would know this, especially that of Jill Kelly. Your actions have left her confidence and trust in fellow mankind in shreds.'