A man has appeared in court accused of fleecing six women out of almost £600,000 in romance fraud scams.
Marc Cole-Jones, 52, is accused of 22 counts of fraud by false representation over a 15-year period.
STEVE ALLENThe fraudster stole £600.000 from six different women[/caption]
STEVE ALLENMarc Cole-Jones has now been bailed with a number of conditions[/caption]
The charges relate to six women from Cheshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, Manchester and the West Midlands.
The offences allegedly occurred between 2009 and 2024 and totalled £595.791.
One woman is said to have handed over £20,000 to Cole-Jones after he “emotionally blackmailed” her.
He is accused of making the woman believe someone had broken into his home and murdered his dog.
Another woman was reportedly told by Cole-Jones that he had gotten “in difficulties” with organised crime.
Yet another woman was allegedly deceived into buying him a £75,000 canal boat.
Cole-Jones is then said to have sold the boat for profit without the woman’s knowledge.
Cole-Jones, also known as Marc Cole and Marc Sands, appeared in the dock at Chester Crown Court wearing a blue suit and spoke only to confirm his name.
He was not required to enter pleas to the charges.
Cole-Jones, of Donnington, Telford, Shropshire, will next appear in court on February 5, when a trial date is expected to be fixed.
Judge Natalie Cuddy bailed the defendant until February 5 next year, when he must appear back at the same court for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
He was bailed on condition he shares details of his bank accounts, provides police with any mobile telephone numbers he is using, reports to a police station in Telford once a week, and does not contact directly or indirectly any of the complainants.
The charges follow an investigation by detectives from the Economic Crime Unit at Cheshire Police.
An earlier hearing was told that Cole-Jones allegedly “exploited” the women’s trust “for financial gain.”
It was claimed that Cole-Jones abused trust over a significant period of time.
According to prosecuters there are a large number of victims.
STEVE ALLENCole-Jones will appear in court again on February 5[/caption]
AlamyCole-Jones appeared at Chester Crown Court accused of 22 counts of fraud[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
