A key worker who begged for cash for a home makeover has taken down his fundraising appeal after it emerged he is a convicted fraudster.
Adam Stark set up a GoFundMe profile asking for donations to renovate the outdated property he bought with fiancée Ali Jennings.
The 31-year-old says he met his partner on dating app Tinder just before the UK's first coronavirus lockdown and decided to buy a home together, Staffordshire Live reports.
But the appeal for renovation cash was slammed after his previous conviction came to light, and today he admitted his fundraising drive had been "cheeky".
The couple moved into their home at the beginning of the year after purchasing the property at Christmas time and launched a GoFundMe page this week to help pay for a facelift.
The page, listed by Adam Stark, didn't mention his role in a dangerous £500,000 “cash for crash” scam across Derbyshire back in 2017.
Investigators at the time described the gang as being willing to put the lives of innocent motorists at risk for profit.
The 12-strong gang engineered 41 vehicle collisions, then would fraudulently claimed for non-existent injuries, damage and storage costs.
They carried out the ruse by having a lead car “swerve violently” causing the second car to brake suddenly and the target vehicle to crash in to the back of it, according to Derbyshire Live's report of their sentencing.
The insurance firm of the target car would then pay out the scammer, often working under a stolen or false name, for personal injuries, damage and for costs for storage.
They were ordered to pay back more than £37,000 between from their ill-gotten gains they pocketed from targeting lone or elderly motorists.
He was sentenced to four years and nine months behind bars and ordered to pay back £2,434.59.
After a backlash which saw dozens of Facebook users slamming the GoFundMe page the 31-year-old who lives in Burton, Staffordshire, confirmed he had taken it down.
He said: "I accept that was a bit cheeky. Sometimes you can be a bit cheeky and sometimes you can't.
"On this occasion, it didn't work out. It's been removed due to abuse that's been received.
"The reaction's been over the top. If it was this time last year, it would've been a different story.
"People were saying NHS workers deserve more than they get and there were fund-raising campaigns everywhere.
"I'm not saying I'm entitled and, granted, it was a bit cheeky asking.
"It was an idea suggested by a friend and I thought 'why not?'. There have been a lot of fund-raisers for NHS workers, so why not give it a go myself and see if we can get some help?
"I regret setting up the appeal in hindsight. We weren't expecting to be attacked over it. People have just thrown abuse around."
Today, the key worker who delivers medical supplies to hospitals - told the publication he had turned his life around.
He said: "I'd put the conviction behind me. I've made a mistake. I'm not proud of it, but now it's in the past."
He added: "I've taken my punishment for it and everyone deserves a second chance in life.
"I'd now ask people to allow me to move on with my life."
In his GoFundMe listing, Stark says the house was previously owned by an elderly man and had not been updated for 20 or 30 years.
The page asks for money from the public to help transform their home.
It also asks if anyone is getting rid of a kitchen or bathroom that is still in good condition or tradespeople who could donate a day or the time to get in touch.
Adam, who said he works as a lorry driver delivering medical supplies to NHS hospitals and treatment centres, said: "I know with everything that is going on that there's a lot of support for key workers at the moment and it was suggested to me by a friend to do this and I thought why not.
"I can do a lot of the work myself but I will have to get other people in. It's the bathroom and kitchen that mainly need doing. We want them redoing completely but we don't mind if it is second-hand stuff.
"I believe the house did belong to an elderly gentleman and it has not been touched for 20 to 30 plus years. It's all very old and needs updating.
"We moved here as the area is beautiful, it's a lovely house, a lovely street and a lovely community. The house has not been neglected, it just needs updating.
"We saw the potential this house had and thought we could make it our family home. We saw a lot of houses in different areas and thought this was the right one.
"If people were to donate things to the house or if tradespeople don't have money but want to donate a day off to help us that would be amazing. We'd appreciate anything like that.
"We'd appreciate any help we can get. We don't expect to get the whole house done for free but a little bit of help would be amazing."
The GoFundMe page, which had been live for three days and raised £10 toward the couple's £2,500 goal.
On Monday a notice placed on it reads "this fundraiser is no longer accepting donations. If you are the organiser, beneficiary, a team member or donor, sign in for further details".
The Daily Record does not suggest Ali Jennings had any knowledge or involvement in Stark's prior criminal conviction.
