A convicted Tunbridge Wells fraudster who duped a woman he met on a dating website into giving him tens of thousands of pounds has been ordered to pay her compensation.
Jaswant Gohil, 58, formerly of Victoria Road, has three months to pay or faces an additional prison sentence, on top of the three years he is currently serving. He was convicted of fraud following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced on June 7. Following the sentence, Kent Police made an application to the court for a confiscation order under The Proceeds of Crime Act.
At a hearing on December 10, it was determined Gohil had benefited from his criminal conduct by £34,038. His current available assets were valued at £9,043 and he will have to pay this amount in compensation to the victim.
Detective Inspector Annie Clayton, of the Serious Economic Crime Unit said: "If Gohil fails to comply with the order, he will not only have to serve an additional prison sentence, but following this will still have to pay back the money. The Proceeds of Crime Act remains one of our biggest weapons against those who fund a lifestyle from crime. It enables police to claw back any ill-gotten gains from offenders, by allowing us to seize cash, cars and even lavish homes which may have been funded by crime.
"Powers derived from the Act can often mean that a criminal continues to pay for his or her crimes long after they have even been released from prison, depending on how much money has been derived unlawfully."
Gohil was arrested in June 2016 after deceiving his victim into making a number of loans to him, to invest in companies which did not even exist.
The victim even secured the loan against her home in Southampton to invest in a business venture with the man she thought she was in a relationship with, despite him living with another woman.
During his hearing, Judge Martin Huseyin said: "You treated the victim appallingly, gained her trust, abused it and acted like a leech. You exhausted her credit and then dropped her and moved on."
