NTI_PARA_CONMAN_02

GRANTHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, MARCH 01, 2013;
Despicable fraudster Martin Heaver (46) of Grantham, Lincolnshire. See NTI story NTICON. A conman who pretented to be a member of the elite parachute regiment and invented a dying child to trick people into giving him money has been jailed for six months. Martin Heaver (46) claimed to be raising money for a five-year-old girl from Waltham-on-the Wolds, Leicestershire and took sponsorship forms around Melton and Grantham asking for people to pledge money for a series of sponsored sky-dives he said he would attempt. An estimated 100 people pledged money to his cause, with Heaver pocketing between £900 and £1,000. The court heard how Heaver had even bought a red Paratrooper T-shirt and beret from E-bay to give his story authenticity.
(Credit: Newsteam).