Tinder swindler who stole £70k from women by claiming he was ex-special forces multi-millionaire with cancer is jailed

A TINDLER swindler who stole £70,000 from women after claiming he was a multi-millionaire with cancer has been jailed. Joseph Gibson, 35, lied about serving in the Special Boat Service and pretended he owned luxury yachts and cars. Joseph Gibson scammed women out of £70k by claiming he had cancer Credit: PA He also pretended he was a multi-millionaire to fleece his victims Credit: PA The scammer, who claimed he was worth £400million, also claimed he had cancer and sent photos apparently sent from his hospital bed. Gibson has now been jailed for three years and two months after admitting four counts of fraud. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Bristol Crown Court heard he conned three women and one man out of £68,000 between July 2020 and October 2021. Lying Gibson met two of his victims on Tinder and convinced one of them they were in a relationship. He told the women he had cancer, previously served in the Special Boat Service and had been blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED). But his lies, which included sending pictures of large houses he said he was buying, were dismissed as “total fantasy”. One of the photos Gibson sent claiming was in hospital ‘receiving cancer treatment’ Credit: PA He has now been jailed for three years Credit: PA Gibson begged for money in messages Credit: PA He also pretended he had a yacht in Corfu Credit: PA His first victim, a Devon-based businesswoman, lost more than £5,200 after believing his lies and handed over money for him to purchase stock for her retail business. In August 2020, Gibson told the victim he had cancer and even sent her a photograph of himself purportedly in a hospital bed. Most read in The Sun By the end of his fraud, the woman had just 93p left in her bank account. Gibson’s second victim – described as “another Tinder trap” – was targeted by the conman when he discovered she had £10,000 in a savings account. The crook based himself on Mr Grey from the Fifty Shades Of Grey film and convinced the woman to send him her money so he could turn it into £150,000. In 2021, she took out a £4,000 loan after Gibson claimed he urgently needed money for private cancer treatment. The woman was later forced to take out an individual voluntary agreement to manage her debts. Gibson’s third victim – a relative of the second woman – took out loans to invest in his bogus investment deals but lost more than £18,000. Gibson claimed he was coughing up blood in hospital Credit: PA The conman posed up in a hospital bed Credit: PA The final victim was a retired superyacht captain who dreamed of travelling around the world with his wife. Gibson told him he had purchased a £7million yacht after selling a weapons programme to the US government for £400million. In total, the man gave Gibson more than £25,000 to invest in his businesses, the court heard. Even after he was snared, the criminal continued to spread a web of lies and previously begged a judge to hold off on his sentencing. Gibson claimed he he had £40,000 in savings to repay his victims after working in the engineering industry in the UK, Bulgaria and Dubai. The court heard today he was unable to raise the sum and could only provide £15,000 until more funds became available. He told Recorder Jaron Crooknorth that he could save £5,000 per month for compensation and asked for his sentence to be deferred for a further nine months to fully repay his victims. But the judge refused his request and also ordered the start of proceedings to recover money gained through his fraud. He told Gibson: “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.” Gibson will next appear for a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to recover his assets to repay his victims, in March.