A SERIAL romance fraudster swindled £300,000 from his victims by showing off his lavish lifestyle in fake dating app profiles.
Cieran McNamara posed with yachts and outside mansions to dupe his unsuspecting victims into sending him cash.
He then used the ill-gotten gains to splurge on first class travel to five star hotels with the aim of tricking more women.
McNamara, 37, used fake aliases on dating apps and also visited exclusive clubs and hotels to prey on wealthy women.
The con artist would flood the victims with gifts, weekends away and luxury meals using money he had stolen to fund his lifestyle.
Once hooked, McNamara then claimed he was having issues with his bank account and needed to borrow money.
If his victims questioned him, the scammer blamed the women for doubting him until they gave in.
McNamara has now been jailed for seven years after admitting four counts of fraud by false representation.
Chester Crown Court heard the fraudster posed under the names Ciaran Griffin, Christian McNamara and Myles McNamara.
He convinced women he was a successful businessman with a high value property portfolio across the UK.
McNamara showed the victims pictures of his “mansions” and of him travelling first class around the world.
The scam was similar to “Tindler Swindler” Simon Leviev, who posed as a jet-setting mogul to con women out of millions of pounds.
Between September 1, 2022, and September 25, 2023, he duped four women into handing over £302,054.26.
But his lies unravelled when one victim, from Cheshire, grew wise to his claims and reported him to the police.
Officers from Cheshire Constabulary Economic Crime Unit raided a lock-up owned by McNamara and discovered £19,500 worth of brand new goods.
This included a £1,900 Burberry Coat, a £400 Burberry Scarf, Dubarry boots, Gucci trainers and a Ping golf set.
Police are still working to track down other items, with a proceeds of crime hearing set to take place in the future.
Detective Constable Victoria Hazlewood, who led the investigation, said: “McNamara is a serial fraudster, and I truly believe that he cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy.
“During our investigation, we uncovered a web of lies with thousands of text messages which he sent to his victims in order to extort cash to fund his lavish lifestyle.
“He convinced his victims that he was a millionaire with properties across the country, but in reality, he was unemployed and living out of suitcase.
“McNamara identified ways he could control and manipulate his victims and throughout the investigation, he has shown no remorse for his actions.
“He truly believed that he would never be caught by police and that he would never be held accountable for his despicable behaviour.”
