Wedding stinger receives second jail sentence

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A "conman without scruples'' who duped his girlfriend into a wedding he never planned to attend has received a second jail sentence for ripping people off.

Richard Rae Dixon was already serving a prison sentence of 27 months when he appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentence on 16 charges of obtaining by deception and breaching bail.

Judge Brooke Gibson said the combined worth of the deceptions was $46,000 and there was no hope of the money being returned.

"He swindled foreigners out of money. He befriended them and told one foreigner that he could organise work permits.''

Other amounts of money were for hotels and motels that the 37-year-old stayed at around the North Island but left before paying without paying the bill.

Another one of Dixon's victims handed over $3600 for a car that never arrived.

Judge Gibson said Dixon had a criminal history that included 111 dishonesty charges.

"He alleges that he was told to offend by a gang but having regard of the defendant's history, I am reluctant to accept anything the defendant said.''

Judge Gibson said another judge recently described Dixon as a conman without scruples.

"I find that to be an accurate description of his character.''

He gave Dixon a small discount for pleading guilty before trial and handed down a final sentence of four years and five months.

Dixon is already serving a jail sentence of 27 months after organising a wedding he never intended to hold in Gisborne.

Heather Gomm, 25, of Gisborne, was due to marry Dixon in an elaborate summer ceremony in her hometown.

Instead she discovered he had ordered goods and services valued at more than $10,000 for the nuptials and a family party he never intended to go through with.

A relative of Ms Gomm told APNZ in September she met the Aucklander on the internet in September last year but knew him only by the fake name he gave her - Antonio Almendaz.

The family member, who did not want to be named, said the couple had compiled a guest list and Ms Gomm had started looking for wedding dresses.

As Ms Gomm planned their future together, her family became concerned about her new partner.

"He said he was a champion kickboxer and that he was a bodyguard to the stars,'' said her relative.

"There were alarm bells all over the place.''

A relative of Ms Gomm said she was studying at a polytechnic while trying to rebuild her life.

The deception came to light when Dixon was stopped by police near Wairoa in February and arrested.