MI5 Conman tricked students out of £665,000 by 'IRA threats'

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From Evening Standard:

This is the face of the man accused of posing as an MI5 officer who convinced three students that they had to go on the run from the IRA.
Robert Hendy-Freegard is said to have enjoyed expensive cars, clothes and holidays after persuading the students to hand over huge amounts of cash they borrowed from their families. A judge at Blackfriars Crown Court today gave permission for Hendy-Freegard's photograph to be released. The trial, which opened on Monday, has been told that Hendy-Freegard was a "consummate conman" who was cruel and ruthless to the students who believed his lies.

Yesterday one of them, teacher John Atkinson, told how Hendy-Freegard beat him up and stole £390,000 from him. He is accused of stealing £200,000 from another student. In total he is accused of stealing £665,000 through fraud between 1993 and his arrest last year. The court has heard that Hendy-Freegard befriended the three students at Harper Adams Agriculture College in Newport, Shropshire when he was a barman at a local pub. He tricked them with a story about IRA involvement at the college and recruited Mr Atkinson for a fictitious mission.

Hendy-Freegard, 32, from Blyth near Worksop, Nottinghamshire, denies eight charges of theft, four of kidnap and five of obtaining money by deception, two assaults and two threats to kill. Mr Atkinson has told the trial how he dropped out of his course after Hendy-Freegard recruited him and subjected him to a month of beatings in an effort to "toughen him up". He said in court: "He told me my country needed me. I was flattered, arrogant and I believed him."

He said of the beatings he received: "Robert must have been laughing himself-to sleep." Student Sarah Smith was convinced by Hendy-Freegard to go on the run to avoid the IRA. She even bore two children by him and believed that Hendy-Freegard's story was true for 10 years.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/8622620

Of all the cliche chat up lines ever heard in public bars......