Fraudster stole $985k from cancer-stricken pensioner to fund lavish lifestyle

Terrance McGinley ran up a restaurant bill of £1000 at the Ivy in west London using David Wilson’s money. Photo / Cumbria Police

A British farmer was scammed out of his life savings by a conman who spent the money on fine dining and foreign holidays.

David Wilson was defrauded out of more than £400,000 ($912,000) by Terrance McGinley, 44, between 2019 and 2022, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

He first befriended his victim – who was in his late 70s, suffered from cancer, and had no family – by getting down on his knees and begging him for £5000

The pensioner agreed to hand over the money, which he was told was for a court case, and then gave the conman £58,000 to help with the sale of a house in Ireland, which McGinley promised to pay back.

Wilson was defrauded out of a total of £432,000 ($985,740) which was paid out to McGinley in 11 different cheques.

The pensioner was left anxiously waiting by the phone for McGinley to call him and tell him how he would pay it all back, the court heard.

McGinley had spent the cash on designer clothes, foreign holidays, and expensive meals – including a restaurant bill of more than £1000 at the Ivy in Kensington, west London.

A friend of Wilson told the court he was using a walking frame at the time and was undergoing cancer treatment.

Police were alerted to the case when Wilson’s accountants became suspicious of a newfound reluctance to provide details of his finances.

McGinley was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after admitting the fraud and another count relating to building work that was never completed.

A couple had paid him £1200 for work to their driveway in Workington, Cumbria, in June 2022.

But he did no work and when confronted over the matter told them: “Take me to court. I will wink at you.”

The court heard McGinley, of Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, was “deeply sorry” and had issues with alcohol and gambling.

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Robin Arrowsmith of Cumbria Constabulary, said McGinley had caused “untold suffering and mental anguish”.

“These were callous offences committed by a man who identified a vulnerable, elderly person, sold him a lie and then defrauded him out of his life savings over a number of years,” he said.

“The defendant has caused the victim untold suffering and mental anguish as, at times, he waited by the phone for days on end, hoping a man who presented himself as a friend would contact him to arrange sending back the money he was owed.

“Instead, the defendant was living a lavish lifestyle with the money the victim had worked all his life to accumulate.

“Cumbria Police would urge anyone who is approached by a stranger asking for money to contact the police.

“We would also encourage family members to closely monitor transactions being made by elderly people, while also encouraging neighbours and the wider community to look out for any signs that someone is being taken advantage of.”