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  "path": "/news/dorset-serial-fraudster-jailed-caravan-park-weymouth",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-25T07:23:46.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Home Office confirms plans to deport Brighton beach rapists after sentencing",
    "Man admits racially aggravated assault after accusing Jewish man of ‘killing babies’ in ‘pure hate crime’",
    "Man jailed for life over religiously aggravated rape and assault of Sikh woman",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nA serial fraudster who repeatedly exploited victims through elaborate deception has been jailed for 10 years.\n\nSimon John Turner, aged 49, appeared at Reading Crown Court on April 22, where he was sentenced for fraud offences spanning several years.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe 49-year-old admitted to three counts of fraud by false representation alongside theft committed during a relationship.\n\nHis criminal activity encompassed property scams carried out in Weymouth between 2018 and 2019, romance fraud perpetrated from 2024 to 2025, and additional offences in the Swindon and Reading areas.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nVictims collectively lost more than £218,000 to Turner's schemes.\n\nTurner's first victims fell prey to his schemes while he resided at a caravan park in Weymouth, Dorset.\n\nDuring 2018, he struck up a friendship with a solitary man in his 60s who also lived at the site.\n\nWhen redevelopment works required residents to acquire new caravans in 2019, Turner claimed he had arranged a discounted deal for two units at £60,000.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe victim transferred £53,046 to Turner before discovering that no payments had ever reached the site owner, leaving him without a home.\n\nTurner further exploited this trust by proposing to invest the victim's funds in a mortgage, extracting an additional £61,025 that was never invested nor returned.\n\nIn March 2019, Turner encountered another pair of prospective buyers seeking a caravan in Weymouth.\n\nHe falsely informed them units were exclusively available to existing residents but offered to facilitate a purchase on their behalf.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Home Office confirms plans to deport Brighton beach rapists after sentencing\n  * Man admits racially aggravated assault after accusing Jewish man of ‘killing babies’ in ‘pure hate crime’\n  * Man jailed for life over religiously aggravated rape and assault of Sikh woman\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe couple handed over £76,239 in instalments, believing they were paying for a caravan along with decking and security lighting.\n\nGrowing suspicious at the prolonged delays, one victim contacted the caravan park directly and learned from the owner that all invoices Turner had provided were fraudulent.\n\nDetective Constable Mark Walsh of Dorset Police said: \"Turner's deception has had a long-lasting impact on all of the victims affected.\"\n\nTurner's manipulation continued into 2024 when he targeted a woman from Amesbury, Wiltshire, whom he encountered through a dating website.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe relationship progressed with holiday bookings that Turner consistently cancelled using various pretexts, whilst extracting £28,640 from his victim.\n\nIn her victim impact statement, the woman told the court: \"I was lonely and vulnerable\" and \"he told me what I wanted to hear.\"\n\nShe added: \"He stole mine and my son's financial security, I don't trust anyone now. I feel hurt, isolated, embarrassed, angry and judged. My kindness was used against me.\"\n\nCrime Investigator Sophie Vowles described Turner's conduct as \"manipulative\" and noted: \"Romance fraud is a callous crime that leaves deep emotional and financial scars.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**\n**\n\n**\n**\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Serial fraudster jailed for 10 years after taking more than £218,000 from victims"
}