The victims of a Tinder swindler have spoken out about how he conned them out of £68,000.
Joseph Gibson, 35, lied that he had served in the Special Boat Service, owned luxury yachts and, even claimed, he was a multimillionaire cancer patient.
He was eventually arrested and admitted four counts of fraud relating to three women and one man, whom he conned out of £68,000 between July 2020 and October 2021.
Last week, he was jailed for three years and two months at Bristol Crown Court after a judge refused his request to delay the sentencing.
Under anonymity, Gibson’s victims have revealed how he spun a complex web of lies using elaborate tricks to convince them to hand over large sums of money.
This included claiming he was in hospital receiving treatment for cancer to avoid buying a yacht and to stop one victim from asking what had happened to the money she had put into a stock.
He caused further distress to the women by saying it could be terminal.
To keep the facade, Gibson sent the victims convincing selfies which appeared to show him in a hospital bed wearing a facemask.
Joseph Gibson, 35, lied that he had served in the Special Boat Service, owned luxury yachts and, even claimed, he was a multimillionaire cancer patient.
Gibson told one woman – who he had met on Tinder – that he had cancer and even sent her a photograph of himself purportedly in a hospital bed
‘He would send me pictures in hospital and the background would look legit and I could hear women in the background,’ one victim said.
Gibson went as far as to ask the women to lend him £20.
When Gibson first matched with his victims, they described him as ‘funny’, ‘talkative’ and ‘trustworthy’.
Gibson also claimed that he was a multimillionaire showing fake trading portfolios and pictures of homes and cars he owned.
The victims were then coaxed into handing over their life savings under the promise he could increase their wealth.
One victim said: ‘When you’re being abused, whether it’s financially or physically, they don’t start off as a nasty person. They befriend you and they gain your trust. They’re nice.’
But the women did notice holes in his story. In one instance he claimed to own a house in Bath but claimed the reason they couldn’t visit was because the boiler was broken.
‘We couldn’t go to [his house]. We never could,’ one woman said.
Under anonymity, Gibson’s victims have revealed how he spun a complex web of lies using elaborate tricks to convince them to hand over large sums of money
Body-worn video footage shows the moment Met Police officers arrested Gibson
On other occasions, his victims would hear conflicting stories about Gibson’s life from his friends and if they challenged him he ordered them to stop asking questions.
Gibson even took a lie detector test to prove he was telling the truth.
However, soon his victims found themselves trapped in his scam with one saying it was ‘hard to know how to put an end to it’.
In the end, the victims were left with very little money which has had a lasting impact on their wellbeing.
One spoke about how there were days when they didn’t eat after Gibson took all their earnings.
Another victim who took out a loan so they could invest in Gibson’s scam and to pay back they had to take out an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).
As a result, they can’t buy a house and they can’t own a credit card.
One of the women tearfully said: ‘The person that he met, it’s like he killed her, because I’ll never be that person again.’
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During his sentencing, the judge said: ‘Joseph Gibson, you are simply a fraudster. It has taken years for you to admit that.
‘Pity those who have had the misfortune to have you come into their lives, prey on their affections, steal their money, steal their goals and fracture their relationships.’
The judge said Gibson had been of previous good character and admitted his offending, albeit shortly before his trial.
He added that the defendant would get ‘very little’ reduction in his sentence for remorse.
The judge added: ‘You are sorry for the position you have found yourself in.
‘You have tried to persuade this court that you have more money than you have. You have not shown evidence of that money to me.
‘You have sought to deceive this court into believing that you had it.’
Gibson, of Ruthin, Denbighshire, appeared to be shaking throughout the court hearing.
He will next appear for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to recover his assets to repay his victims, in March.
