A conman who tricked women he met over a dating site with fake sob stories into handing over £123,000 has been jailed for five years.
Among the variety of lies told by Amar Haider was that he was training to be a pilot for Emirates air lines while he told one of the victims he needed cash to get him out of jail in Dubai.
The court was told that Haider, 28, of Augusta Road, Acocks Green, when his victims questioned him, said he would get gangland connections to murder their families.
Judge Nicholas Webb told Haider, who admitted three charges of fraud: “In each case your victim was a young, professional Muslim woman who, I have no doubt, you targeted, exploiting them emotionally and then financially, using a particularly cruel form of confidence trickery.
“You carried out your fraud at times with considerable skill and persistence, displaying on occasions very considerable acting ability.
“In two cases, when the victims became aware that you were defrauding them, you turned nasty, in one case threatening to go to the victim’s family.”
The judge said Haider had taken the life savings of one of the women leaving her with “crippling debts” while another had contemplated suicide.
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Glyn Samuels, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said: “Each were first courted by the defendant and each victim believed she was in a serious relationship likely to lead to marriage.
“Hence their willingness to help their future husband.”
He said Haider, using a false name, had contacted the first victim through text messages.
The defendant, who already knew some details about her through his work with the AA, engaged in some “flirtatious” chat before they met on a number of occasions in different cities
At a time his victim believed the relationship was getting serious Haider telephoned her “in tears” claiming his father had suffered a stroke and was in a coma.
“She dropped everything and travelled to Birmingham to offer her support. In fact his father was not ill or in hospital. It was simply a ploy.”
Haider claimed that because of his father’s illness he was struggling financially and that his father also needed to be taken to the US for treatment which would cost £25,000.
The defendant also pretended that he was training to be a pilot in Oxford and he was having difficulties funding the course.
As a result she gave Haider, in around £30,000 over a 12 month period before her suspicions about him were aroused.
Mr Samuels said Haider had another woman, from Edinburgh, through a dating website, and gave her the same story about training to be a pilot. People really need to be careful when using dating sites, especially when they come across people like this. There is no reason that someone on a dating site should be asking someone for money. Most people are normally just looking to meet local fuck buddies on dating sites, so make sure that people aren’t trying to scam you out of money.
As part of his training he said he was going to Dubai and later rang her to say he was in jail and needed to raise £4,500 for his bail causing her to pawn family jewellery.
The figure demanded rose to £30,000 after the defendant claimed he had been involved in a road collision with some one who had died and that sum was needed to make the case “go away.”
Mr Samuels said Haider slightly changed his story with the final victim from Nottingham, saying he was an orphan and then claiming he needed to raise £80,000 to fight a court battle with one of his relatives.
She was made aware of the fraud when the defendant’s wife contacted her “out of the blue” and told her that her husband had been lying to her.
He said it was later discovered Haider had used four different bogus names when using the dating site which he had been banned from.
The only amount recovered, he said, was £1,100.
Trevor Meegan, defending, said: “It was not always a one way street. There were holidays, gifts, meals and weekends away. All three women did not pay for everything.
“He is some what of a Walter Mitty character and a fantasist, trying to impress and living a life style that his income could not fund.”
He said Haider’s wife was standing by him.
Detective Constable Debra Phillips, said: “The long jail sentence reflects the aggravating features. He’s left his victims with long-term financial worries that will affect them for many years: one victim is now faced with bankruptcy as a result.
“At the start of the relationship all three had substantial savings and held down well-paid jobs in the financial or marketing sector; they were cynically targeted by Haider because of their financial means. At one stage he was juggling relationships with his wife and two ‘girlfriends’.
“In addition to the financial loss, two of his victims were threatened and intimidated by Haider who said he had gangster connections and could arrange for them to carry out hits on their families.
“I hope the women can get their lives back on track and take some comfort that Haider has been jailed for several years and that his life has also been irreparably changed by his deceit.”
