Swindler told school pal he was dying

A CONMAN has been jailed for a year after swindling an old classmate out of £2,700 by falsely claiming he had weeks to live.

- By Chris Riches

Jobless Matthew Howarth, 32, reached out to Thomas Lee after 16 years, saying he had a fatal brain tumour. He also lied that he was a TV producer and had private health insurance that covered him for up to £10million of treatment - but he had to pay a £10,000 excess to access it. If he didn’t get the treatment he would die within weeks, he said.