Image source, Cheshire Constabulary Image caption,

Cieran McNamara posed as a wealthy property owner to trick his victims

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BBC News West Midlands

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6 hours ago

A romance fraudster who lived a lavish lifestyle using more than £300,000 which he conned from women has been jailed.

Posing as a successful businessman, Cieran McNamara preyed on four wealthy women from across the UK and tricked them into believing they were in a loving relationship, police said.

He would then fake a crisis to manipulate his victims into sending him large sums of money, Chester Crown Court heard.

The 37-year-old, from Coventry, was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to four charges of fraud by false representation.

Image source, Cheshire Constabulary Image caption,

He found his victims online and in exclusive clubs

"McNamara is a serial fraudster, and I truly believe that he cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy," said Det Con Victoria Hazlewood, of Cheshire Constabulary.