Corby sex offender faked his own death to scam £1,300 out of a friend

He pretended to be his own grieving wife
File picture. JPI Media.File picture. JPI Media.
File picture. JPI Media.

A 50-year-old man who faked his own death and then pretended to be his grieving wife in order to defraud a friend has been sent to prison for six months.

In June 2020, Michael Robert William Cordwell, 50, previously of Butterwick Walk, Corby, took on his wife’s identity and text a female friend pretending that he had died.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The friend was naturally devastated and also had immense sympathy for Cordwell’s “wife”, so when she received messages from “her” asking for money because times were hard, she obliged. Over a period of time, she sent more than £1300 to Cordwell.

The scam only came to a halt when police officers became involved and realised what Cordwell was doing. He was subsequently charged with fraud by false representation and this month, pleaded guilty to the offence.

He was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for the fraud and an extra five weeks for breaching his conditions in relation to being on the Sex Offenders’ Register by opening a bank account and two credit cards without telling his supervising officer.

In their sentencing remarks, Magistrates said: “This offence is so serious because it happened over a period of time, upon a vulnerable victim, and you attempted to get her to delete the evidence. You have also struggled to display any victim empathy.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lead Investigator, PC James Brookes, said: “I am very pleased to see Michael Cordwell given time in prison for these offences.

“It was exceptionally calculated and deceptive to fake his own death in order to take advantage of the kind nature of this woman for financial gain – no amount of money is worth being so disloyal and dishonest to a genuine friend.

“I would like to commend the victim in this case who has shown great resolve in seeing our investigation through to the end.

“I hope when that cell door closes every night, Cordwell reflects on his greed and lack of humanity in order to ensure he makes better decisions when he is released from prison.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) Department strive to conduct proactive investigations into offending by Registered Sex Offenders and this is how Cordwell was brought to justice.”

■ We understand that some people may be angry or upset to see their name published here but covering court cases acts as a deterrent against crime and it is important that justice is being seen to be done.

Under English Law, it is a general principle that criminal court proceedings for adults should be held openly and in public. Verdicts and sentences are normally given out in open court and so are in the public domain. Newspapers such as ours therefore have the right to publish outcomes of all such criminal court cases.

You can read more about what to expect if you have appeared in court on the IPSO website HERE