Romance fraud victim flees UK after early release of jailed conman

As cases soar by 27%, tricked woman tells of her £115,000 ordeal

- Maya Oppenheim

The first time Yvonne met Gary Rogers he arrived at her house in a shiny black Range Rover smelling of Armani Code perfume, with neatly gelled silver hair.

It was August 2017, and Yvonne's ex-husband had suggested she ask the motor dealer, known locally as the “Jag man”, to fix her car.

Yvonne* says their relationship developed slowly. “Gary” boasted he had been spending time on his 42ft boat, claimed to own two houses, and once turned up in a Porsche. As they began to see more of each other, he would arrive at Yvonne's house with fruit and smoked salmon, always with a wad of money on him.

“He was friendly, outgoing and easy to talk to,” the 68-year-old says. “He was throwing his money around buying drinks. He was the life and soul.”

But Gary Rogers’s real name was Richard Robinson, and in July 2020 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and theft. He was also convicted of witness intimidation and two counts of battery. He had conned two women, one of whom was Yvonne, out of more than £210,000 between 2017 and 2018.

Robinson has now been released from prison early, after serving four years of his sentence, under a scheme brought in by the Conservative government to ease overcrowding.