Two men used a "honeypot" to ensnare vulnerable victims and steal their life savings.
Paul Miles, 52, of Enid Street, Toxteth, and Ross Smith, 38, of Moscow Drive, Old Swan, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after taking over £54,000 from the victims. Peter Killen, prosecuting, said the, a man in his 50s, lived with his 96-year-old mum. The ECHO has chosen not to identify the vulnerable victims.
The mother and son had been saving money for many years, and kept their money in the man's bedroom. Mr Killen said: “[The male victim] was introduced to the defendant, Paul Miles, by a female he only knew as Nikki, who was interviewed by police and no further action was taken.
READ MORE: Mum 'knew it wasn't good news' when offered cup of tea by doctor
“It is clear from the messages recovered from Paul Miles’ phone that ‘Nikki’ is the honeytrap. Over approximately one month, Paul Miles and [the victim] met for coffee a few times.
“[The victim] thought that a friendship was developing but he was in fact being used by the defendant.” The court was heard that on August 15, the man loaned Miles £200 to get into a new flat, and later that day, Miles said he would repay him.
In the messages, Miles referred to the victim as “mate”, “my friend”, and “bro”, and paid him compliments such as telling him others had said he “looked young for his age”. He also said he would ring him “the minute he bumps into Nikki."
The same day, the co-conspirators shared text messages which clearly showed their pre-planning of the theft, which were read out in court. Smith wrote: “Yeah man it was a good touch today and I feel the same mate when we are together we get good grafts together, we definitely need to come up with a good plan and hit the jackpot with that guy from today.”
Miles replied: “Yeah man we can have a good chat tomoz about the plan mate psychology is my thing and 63 he is gutted cos he hasn’t got any bin lids and is SO LONELY and NOW in LOVE with Nikki. I’ve had over £300 THIS WEEK ONLY HAHA”. A later message from Miles read: “I will try and get him to meet Nikki say Pier Head”.
Over the course of the next two weeks, texts of this nature continued, and on August 5 and 6, the two defendants knocked the door of the property on two separate occasions as part of their reconnaissance. At 2.25pm on August 6, the defendants knocked on the door again, and the mother answered, but this time Miles asked if he could use the bathroom.
The 96-year-old let him in, believing his claim was true, but as soon as he gained access to the property he ran upstairs and after a couple of minutes ran back down shouting that he had the box containing the money. At the time, the woman did not think anything of it, but when her son returned home at around 5.20pm, he said “his heart sank” when he saw his front gate open and knew something was wrong.
Mr Killen said: “[The woman] described feeling shocked and scared, she stated she didn’t feel able to eat her tea and she felt traumatised once she realised what had happened.” Smith was arrested on August 8, and found with £875 cash and a mobile phone, and while being taken to custody, he told police: “It wasn’t me that actually took the money, it was a mate, Ozzy”, referring to Miles.
His address was searched, where a further £200 and the keys to a Nissan Micra parked nearby were found. The car was also searched, and officers found a yellow JD Sports bag containing £20,000 in cash.
Smith admitted he was at the victim's address when the robbery took place but claimed he wanted to stop Miles from committing the crime, and “hoped” a man working on a garden nearby would stop them. He has five previous convictions for five offences, but has not been in front of the courts for 20 years.
Miles was arrested days later on August 10, and found with £515 cash which he claimed he had withdrawn from his own bank, and said he had never been to the street where the victims lived. In a later interview in custody, he claimed to have hidden the rest of the money stolen in Sefton Park near a tennis court, but despite police searches, it has never been recovered.
Miles has 48 previous convictions for 131 offences, of which 74 are for dishonesty and several relate to burglaries and theft. He was also under the remit of a community order after being convicted of racially aggravated harassment in 2021.
In a victim personal statement read out in court by the prosecution, the male victim said: “The incident has left me feeling dirty and violated, they have taken mine and my mother's life savings which we have saved up over decades.
“I feel dirty as someone has taken advantage of my 96 year old mother as I was out making the essential trip of paying our bills.
“I am now hesitant to leave the house and leave my mother alone.”
Michael O’Brien, defending Miles, said: “He did say he was sorry for the trouble and hurt he has caused the victims in this case.
“He said he made genuine efforts to help police to find the cash, and he’s quite bewildered as to why police couldn’t find it.
"Mr Miles has been insistent on the money being at that location and returned to the victim.”
Jeremy Rawson, defending Smith, highlighted his client's comparatively lesser criminal record, and said he has a three-month-old child. He said Smith was currently battling an addiction to class A drugs, but was trying to “balance the addiction he has with an honest lifestyle.”
In sentencing, Judge Andrew Menary KC, said: “On any view, this was a serious and particularly nasty offence of its type.
“Paul Miles, you took the lead in this offending, you befriended [the victim], he was somewhat of a private, loner individual, and utilising a female associate called Nicky, who was used essentially as something of a 'honey trap', you quite deliberately developed a relationship with [him] that allowed you to dishonestly steal from him.
“They were both private people, and they feel completely violated, not only by the breach of what they thought was friendship, but also the trust and confidence in others and the safety and sanctity of their home which has been substantially undermined.
“You knew [the elderly woman] was there, and she effectively watched as you stole her money, she may not have been aware at the time that this was happening, but she soon found out when her son got home.”
The pair admitted burglary. Miles was sentenced to 45 months imprisonment, and the community order he was subject to was revoked. Smith was handed a 36-month sentence.
The £23,910 in total recovered from the two defendants will be returned to the victims.
READ NEXT
Live updates as M56 motorway closes due to serious crash
Once a great hope, Liverpool's Chinatown is at a dead end
First picture of man murdered by 15-year-old boy
Mum left with 'bald patches' after 'drunk woman' attacks her at Lewis Capaldi gig
