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A serial fraudster who previously impersonated a paramedic using a fake ambulance has been sentenced in Christchurch after leaving a trail of unpaid hotel bills and deception.
Police described the moment they caught the scam artist as “like a scene straight out of a movie”.
Joshua Yarwood orJoshua Martyn, 32, was sentenced at Christchurch District Court yesterday to one year and three months’ imprisonment, Stuffreported.
On June 17, Christchurch police were notified that a hotel guest had left without paying for his two-week stay.
A staff member of the hotel discovered another layer of deception when they alerted other hotels in the city because they had evidence of similar offending dating back to May 5.
Christchurch District Court Photo / Nate McKinnon, RNZ
Police located the man, and he was arrested on a charge of obtaining by deception (over $1000).
Detective Sergeant Michael Freeman said that by the next day, police identified three other hotels where the man had offended, alongside multiple unsuccessful attempts.
“Across the four hotels we know of, he has $15,290.61 of unpaid debts.”
Freeman said three further charges were laid for obtaining by deception, as well as one charge of failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.
Freeman said it became clear the man’s offending might not be limited to Christchurch.
Hotels in Greece, Thailand, Britain, Northern Ireland, and Cambodia all reported similar offending.
“The man is alleged to have used different names, scamming many victims out of thousands of dollars by posing as a United Nations official procuring aid for charities linked to the war in Ukraine,” Freeman said.
The man is also alleged to have convinced a woman she was being stalked, but he was the one responsible for the acts of intimidation.
Another victim, living in Cambodia, claimed he was owed thousands of dollars as an employee who was never paid.
After the man’s arrest in New Zealand, police found he had previously been convicted in Britain for theft, fraud, and “befriending vulnerable people”.
He impersonated a paramedic and had even used his own fake ambulance response vehicle.
Freeman said the man appeared to be a scam artist who had been victimising people all over the world for years.
“A few people have likened him to Frank Abagnale, the real-life inspiration for the film Catch Me If You Can.
