In April this year, Sajad Hussain, a 45-year-old resident of Winterbourne Road, Haydon End, Swindon, pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud. At the time, police authorities revealed that the man was behind a years-long fraudulent practice that brought him some £200,000 ($251,500). For seven years until 2020, Hussain exploited women, asking them for money which he then used to fuel a gambling addiction.
In 2018, Hussain married, but this didn’t stop him from continuing the shocking scam. Overall, he scammed three victims out of thousands of pounds by using a fake name, background as well as a plethora of different excuses and reasons why he would need money. To meet with his victims, Hussain used different online dating websites such as Badoo and Plenty of Fish.
The scammer was active between 2013 and 2020. During that time, he extorted three different victims and while his name and other background details would vary, it was the same story every time. Initially, Hussain would meet his victims on a date and flirt with them, paying for entertaining activities. Once their relationship matured, Hussain started to ask for money for different reasons, effectively extorting the women through his status as their partner.
Given that ultimately the scammer got hundreds of thousands of pounds, it was only a matter of time before he was arrested. After pleading guilty, now Hussain was sentenced and is heading to prison, a report released by the Swindon Advertiser reveals. The 45-year-old man was sentenced by Swindon Crown Court to five years and four months by Judge Jason Taylor KC.
Using Humans as Piggy Banks
Upon announcing the sentencing, Judge Taylor explained that Hussain concealed his identity in an effort to trick women to receive money. He acknowledged that the man also used sob stories to provoke sympathy. However, the Judge noted that in reality, Hussain was a ruthless and cold-hearted person that scarred emotionally those women.
“You spun a web of lies to ingratiate yourself into these women’s lives and, once securely embedded, pulled on every emotional lever you could to extract money from them. To you, they were human piggy banks.“
Judge Jason Taylor KC
Addressing the emotional method used by Hussain, Judge Taylor called Hussain selfish and said that he used women like human piggy banks. Finally, the Judge noted: “You expressed regret and embarrassment but did not show genuine remorse.”
To fund his gambling habit, Hussain obtained above $250,000 from his victims. Between December 2013 and December 2014, from his first victim, he took some £15,500 ($19,500). Then, between June 2014 and June 2020, from his second victim, he obtained £140,000 ($176,000). From the third woman, between October 2015 and July 2017, Hussain was able to extort some £48,500 ($61,000).