Somerset man sentenced for romance fraud
30-year-old Sebastian Timmis was caught when his victim googled him and saw he'd been found guilty of similar offences in the past
A man from a small Somerset village near Bath has been jailed for trying to scam a woman through romance fraud.
Sebastian Timmis, who's 30 and from Hill View in Marksbury, has been sentenced to 12 weeks behind bars after trying to get a woman he met on a dating site to send him money.
He appeared at Bath Magistrates Court earlier today (August 8) and has also been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a previous sentence he received last year for similar offences.
He will therefore not be eligible for release until January 2024.
Officer in the case PC Rory Everitt with Avon and Somerset Police said: “Timmis has repeated his behaviour, again trying to scam his innocent victim into giving him money.
"He clearly had no regard for her feelings and tried to prey on her generosity.
“Timmis’ scam was typical of romance fraud cases involving dating sites and shows many of the red flags that victims should be wary of.
“Firstly, the incredibly early declaration of love or talk of a long-term relationship.
"In this case it was without them meeting each other in person.
“Secondly, that Timmis claimed to be a victim of a theft.
"This is a typical romance fraudster’s ploy to pull at the victim’s heartstrings.
“And thirdly, he got the victim to communicate with him privately over Snapchat so it couldn’t be monitored.
"Moving off the dating app is a common tactic.
“We would urge anyone in a similar situation not to hand over money or personal details and to talk it through with family or friends if you feel under pressure.
"If the person you’ve met online genuinely cares for you as they claim, they will not object to you being cautious.
“If you feel someone is trying to scam you, please report it to the the police or Action Fraud – you could save yourself and others from falling victims to predatory fraudsters.”
Timmis began talking to his victim on May 1 this year and within 24 hours he told her he was looking for someone to fall in love with and that she did not need to keep her dating profile anymore now they had found each other.
He then quickly afterwards asked her to transfer him £50 for petrol, telling her his wallet had been stolen.
When challenged he claimed his friends couldn’t help him, his family were abroad and he was unable to get to work without her financial help.
His scam was unearthed when his victim became suspicious, googled him and discovered media stories showing Timmis had previously been sentenced for several similar offences.