A MAN believed to be Britain’s biggest romance fraudster has been jailed after he conned multiple women out of £1m.
Nigel Baker swindled five single mums he found on dating apps to take out huge loans and sell their homes to feed his gambling.
The 56-year-old fraudster was sentenced to 17 years in prison – thought to be the longest sentence ever imposed for romance fraud in Britain.
One of the mums, a police officer, who handed Baker nearly £80,000, told the court: “[Nigel Baker] is a dangerous predator who has no morals or regard for anyone,
“The realisation has left me feeling violated in a way that is difficult to put into words.
“The knowledge that he touched me makes my skin crawl.
“What I thought was love and connection was manipulation and deceit for financial gain.”
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard betting “obsessed” Baker encouraged the women to take out these loans to invest in his purported betting “business“.
He told the women that he was an online bookie and could make money to fund their future together if they gave him money to “trade” with on betting platforms.
The court heard he told the women there was “zero risk” to their money, as he was not a gambler but a bookie.
But after receiving the money, he would use it to lay and place bets online.
The “charming” fraudster took nearly £1million off the five middle-aged victims, who included successful businesswomen, accountants, and police officers a trial heard.
Another victim, an accountant and grandmother, in her 60s told the court: “[Baker] does not deserve anything more than to be punished for the pain, suffering and extreme financial losses that he has caused to each family he destroyed through his lies [and] deception.
“He needs to pay for every life he ruined, for every penny he took by misrepresenting the true person he was and is.
“He is a predator, and predators need to be locked up and the key thrown away.”
“The emotional impact this had on us as a family was very intense,” the victim told the court.
The mum-of-two described Baker as a “conman” and had “humiliated” her.
The woman had taken out a £200,000 bridging loan against the sale of her home.
Other victims defrauded by the dad-of-two had also come forward but their allegations were not heard at his fraud trial.
Records show that a Betfair account set up by one of his victims – a successful and wealthy businesswoman – had total losses of nearly £4million.
The victims said Baker would also ask for money for a variety of other reasons – claiming he did not have enough money to feed his kids, needed to repair his father’s boiler or even to pay vet bills for his dog.
One of the mums, who is an NHS nurse, gave him savings which were meant to pay for her child’s wedding.
Baker threatened their relationships to end – three of which overlapped – if they could not provide more money the court heard.
One victim told the court Baker once told her a London gang would kill him if she didn’t transfer him £50,000.
Once they were out of money, Baker went back on dating apps to search for new victims to target.
It is understood their alleged losses take the total far beyond £1million.
The offences related to five women and spanned the eight years between 2012 and 2020.
Baker was unanimously convicted of 18 counts of fraud by false representation following a month-long trial earlier this year.
He muttered “Happy Christmas” as his victims and their families gasped and he was taken away by a dock officer.
His Honour Judge Charles Falk labelled Baker, from Romford in Essex, a “charlatan” as he jailed him for 17 years.
Judge Falk told Baker he had “mercilessly and cynically exploited” the trust of his victims.
He said: “You [presented] yourself as a slightly vulnerable and hurting divorced ex-husband, a loving family man with children.
“[You promised] each woman either marriage or permanent partnership and a shared rosy future.
“You told the women everything they wanted or needed to hear, each woman perceiving you, gratefully, as their second chance at life-long happiness, when you were merely seeking to exploit them.
“Your purpose was pure financial gain. You didn’t care a jot for any of them, and you mercilessly and cynically exploited [their] trust.
“When they had lost everything – or you thought they had lost everything – you would discard them and move on to your next victim.
“The fault that they lost their money is entirely at your door and your in-depth ability to manipulate human emotions and the nature of a loving partner.”
Baker’s lawyer, Alexander Williams, cited prison overcrowding, gambling addiction and PTSD stemming from the Marchioness disaster in 1989 in mitigation, as well as supportive statements from his children.
