Super trick disguised as a spy

Robert Hendy – Freegard was born in 1971 in the village of Kilton, County Nottinghamshire. Due to poor performance, Robert left school at the age of 15 and studied carpentry, but his life quickly took a turn. While working as a barman or a car salesman, Robert approached customers and charmed them.

At first, Robert was the perfect boyfriend – handsome, caring, generous, and a good listener. But then, he began to disappear for weeks, revealing his real job as an MI5 agent being hunted by assassins from the armed organization Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Robert’s sophisticated scam lasted 10 years. During that time, he drew at least seven women and one male student into a web woven of lies. He convinces his victims, tricking them or their parents into stealing a total of one million pounds for a life of luxury.

Robert’s string of crimes began in 1992, when he worked as a part-time waiter in a pub near Harper Adams Agricultural College in Newport, Shropshire. Robert convinces two female students Sarah Smith, Maria Hendy and male student John Atkinson to drop out of school, running away with him because their lives are in danger from the IRA.

Robert “recruits” John on a bogus spy mission, beats him up for “strengthening” and forces John to perform silly tests to prove loyalty. He fabricated spy training fees to extort money, defrauding John and his family £390,000.

Maria is so infatuated with Robert that she stayed with him for 8 years, gave birth to two daughters, lived in poverty, controlled all his actions while he drove expensive cars, wore Rolex watches, and wore designer clothes. Once, he broke one of her teeth but forced her to lie to the dentist about falling down the stairs.

Sarah fled across England for 10 years with Robert. She had been with another girlfriend of Robert’s without knowing it, and hid in the bathroom for three weeks to hide from a bogus terrorist group. She was forced to work up to 16 hours a day but had to hand over all her wages to Robert. Sarah and her family were scammed £180,000 for the same reason as John.

In 1995, Robert had an affair with Elizabeth Bartholemew, a 22-year-old assistant to a Sheffield car dealer, who had just been married for 6 months. He bought Elizabeth expensive perfume, giving her care and affection not received from her husband.

After conquering Elizabeth, Robert reveals the secret of being an MI5 agent. He said she was in danger from IRA terrorists, ordered her to cut off contact with family and friends, changing her last name to Richardson. He took nude pictures of her, warning that if he did not obey, the photo would be made public.

Robert tricked Elizabeth into taking a “loyalty test” with MI5 in order to get married. She had to dress up, sleep in a sleeping towel at Heathrow airport for a few nights straight, live on a park bench in Peterborough for weeks in the middle of winter, eat only a cheap loaf of bread or a few pieces of chocolate a week and drink water. from public restrooms.

Elizabeth lent Robert £6,500 and £8,000 respectively, never receiving a dime in return. Eventually, Elizabeth was discovered by police in a hut in Dunton Bassett, Leicestershire, emaciated and covered with sores.

In 1996, Robert met Lesley Gardner, a 28-year-old civil servant, in a nightclub in Newcastle. He wiped out her £16,000 in 6 years. Lesley also sold the car because his lover needed cash to “buy off an IRA hitman”, start a new life, and help his critically ill mother. She received a Volkswagen Golf as a gift from Robert, but then discovered that she had to pay for the car in installments, and he pocketed the commission.

In 2000, Robert targeted Renata Kister, a Polish executive who was seven months pregnant and had just broken up with her boyfriend. They met at the car dealership where Robert worked. He took the £10,000 from the sale of Renata’s car and asked her to borrow another £15,000 for him. Whenever Renata asks for money, Robert says he still hasn’t been paid for the secret mission. He even tricked Renata into letting Sarah Smith live in the house on the pretext that it was a witness protection program.

Robert tells Renata that Sarah is Hispanic and can’t speak English, while telling Sarah to pretend she doesn’t understand English in order to stay safe from the IRA. As a result, the two women did not exchange a word for three months.

Robert’s next victim was 34-year-old female lawyer Caroline Cowper. They met in 2001 when Caroline bought a car. Robert flirts with her with expensive gifts and romantic vacations, but she is the one to pay the bill. He repeatedly borrowed money from Caroline and promised to pay it back after receiving a salary from MI5.

Although engaged, Caroline proposed a divorce when she discovered that Robert had stolen £14,000 from his bank account. She sued him for £41,000 and informed the police after investigating that Robert was also defrauding other victims.

From Caroline’s report, the police linked the cases of Maria Hendy, John Atkinson and Sarah Smith. But Robert only got caught in the last mission with Kimberley Adams.

Kimberley, 31, a child psychologist and the daughter of an American film producer, met Robert in August 2002. Just weeks after a 14-month relationship, Robert proposed to Kim but said she would also have to be a spy, quit her job and be barred from contacting her family.

After discovering that Kim’s stepfather had won £11 million in the lottery, Robert persuaded the Kim family to send her £15,000 to pay her “spy training” tuition fees. He told the recruiter that Kim had terminal cancer and couldn’t continue to work, tricking her into thinking they would live in a lighthouse in the Hebrides to spy on Russian submarines. Kim often cries when talking to her parents on the phone, but refuses to tell them where she is.

FBI agent Jaclyn Zappacosta joins the investigation of Robert at the invitation of Scotland Yard anti-fraud detective Bob Brandon. They have collaborated on a number of cases since Jaclyn arrived in London three years ago.

Jaclyn said: “We tried all the usual measures, investigating phone records, bank withdrawal histories, but Robert was a great scammer, the usual methods didn’t work for him. him”. In the end, they set a trap through Kim’s parents.

Kim’s mother flew to London, promising to transfer $10,000 to Robert on the condition that she could meet her daughter. Police ambushed and arrested Robert at Heathrow Airport. Kim didn’t show up with Robert, but they found her in a nearby parking lot.

At first, Kim just cried and refused to believe the police. Robert once told her that, because of his role as an undercover MI5 agent, people posing as police might approach and she should not cooperate with them.

At the time of his arrest, Robert had a Polish passport and had just been on vacation with Kim in the French Alps. Police found letters and papers at a hotel mentioning other victims, thereby finding them.

None of the victims knew about Robert’s relationships with other women. He often uses one person’s money to attract others with expensive gifts and dinners. Sometimes he juggles 5 people at once.

Robert manipulates his victims with fear. His rampages are violent and unpredictable. He would stop on the highway and threaten to throw a woman out of the car. The victim was also beaten when he displayed possessiveness. Robert promises his lovers to marry them, but in the end, they only receive empty bank accounts and broken hearts.

Detective Bob Brandon said: “In my 25 years as a detective, I’ve never met such a successful liar. He was very, very good at spotting other people’s weaknesses, exploiting them, and exploiting them. keep the subject under control”.

It took authorities 18 months and £2.5 million to investigate and prosecute Robert. On September 6, 2005, he was sentenced to life in prison on two counts of kidnapping, 10 counts of theft and 8 counts of fraud.

In 2007, Robert appealed the kidnapping charge and won. He was released in May 2009.

In 2011, Robert seduced a British woman named Sandra Clifton through a dating website. He lied about his profession and finances, convincing Sandra with expensive gifts and travel. As the relationship developed over the next several years, he gradually manipulated Sandra through deception, control, and mental abuse, gradually isolating Sandra from family and friends. Sandra then lost contact with her children and ex-husband.

Super trick Robert is the subject of a documentary series The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman (2022).

Tue Anh (Follow The Guardian, BBC)