Scammer Jack Hennessy who stole $337k from pensioners says he was blackmailed himself after losing $200k luxury Swiss watch

Jack Hennessy, 26, is sentenced in Auckland District Court on charges of obtaining by deception. He claims he was blackmailed into taking part in the scam by a London crime syndicate after losing a loaned $200,000 Richard Mille watch. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

• Elderly victims were scammed into withdrawing large sums of money, believing they were aiding a covert police operation.
• UK national Jack Dylan Hennessy, 26, pleaded guilty to 27 charges in connection with 21 victims and $337,700 in stolen cash.
• Hennessy was jailed this week for three years and three months for what a judge described as “reprehensible” offending.

An English scammer who posed as a police courier to dupe pensioners into giving him $337,700 says he, too, is a victim of criminals.

Jack Dylan Hennessy led pensioners to believe they were part of a covert police operation targeting crooked bank staff.

He claims he was blackmailed into scamming them after accidentally losing a luxury $200,000 Swiss watch loaned to him by dangerous UK criminals.

But a judge was highly sceptical of the claims, saying immigration officials would be waiting “outside the prison door” to deport him on his release.

Hennessy, 26, was jailed this week for three years and three months in offending described by Judge Kevin Glubb as “reprehensible”, premeditated and “carried out with almost military precision”.

He admitted 25 charges of obtaining by deception after more than 20 elderly victims were called by scammers posing as police officers and convinced to withdraw large sums of money in the belief they were assisting undercover detectives in a sting operation targeting counterfeit banknotes.

Hennessy used taxis to visit the victims’ homes posing as a plain-clothed police courier to collect the cash, using prearranged code words including “aroha”, “totara”, “treetop” and “Timbuktu’ to convince the pensioners he was a genuine state operative.

The victims believed they were under police surveillance as they withdrew money from Auckland banks.

They were told the money was protected by police insurance and instructed to repackage the cash wearing gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.

Several have spoken of their intense shame after realising they’d been duped, the devastating financial effects on their retirement plans, and feelings of fear and violation that the scammers knew their addresses and had personally visited their homes.

But Hennessy — who has previously served time in a UK prison for his role in a smash-and-grab gang targeting mobile phone stores — tried to downplay his complicity during a restorative justice meeting last month with a lawyer representing an 88-year-old North Shore woman who lost $10,000.

Hennessy claimed he only agreed to board a flight to NZ and pick up packages stuffed with cash after a UK crime syndicate threatened to harm his mother and brother.

Jack Hennessy is sentenced in Auckland District Court. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

The convicted criminal claimed associates in London loaned him a Swiss-made Richard Mille watch — described as “a racing machine on the wrist” — worth more than $200,000.

But within 90 minutes of donning the lavish timepiece, he says he was mugged and the watch stolen. The crime network then demanded repayment and warned of violent consequences if he did not fly to New Zealand and act as a “bag man” for the scam.

After landing in Auckland on June 9, Hennessy rented an apartment on Hobson St then proceeded to steal $337,700 over the next 14 days from 21 separate victims — most of them aged over 80 — who thought they were assisting an elaborate law enforcement investigation.

The pensioners believed that after handing the money to Hennessy, it would be whisked to investigators, checked for fake notes, then redeposited into their accounts.

In reality, the money was either pocketed by Hennessy or sent to his bosses overseas.

‘He was set up’

Hennessy was caught on June 24 on his way to pick up $20,000 from an 83-year-old victim who had already handed over $16,000.

After being spotted in a taxi in central Auckland, he led police on a brief foot chase before being arrested.

Police obtained CCTV footage from Co-op Taxis and used the company’s GPS vehicle coordinates to prove Hennessy had visited the victims’ addresses.

He later pleaded guilty to 27 charges, including one of escaping custody.

The lawyer told the Herald Hennessy made a compelling narrative about his part in the scam during last month’s restorative justice meeting.

“His story is that he was scammed into doing it himself. He claims he was set up and did it to repay a debt that didn’t exist.”

Hennessy told the lawyer that after serving his time in the UK, he “couldn’t keep completely away from bad elements”.

“He was lent a very expensive watch to wear at a party ... worth more than £100,000 ($216,000). He was mugged by two people who stole the watch. He was then accused of selling the watch and made to do the job in New Zealand.”

Hennessy said after his family was threatened, he was flown to New Zealand and told to “pick up parcels, but he didn’t know what they were”.

The UK national was part of a scam that swindled victims, many elderly, out of thousands of dollars. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

He claimed the scam calls to victims were made by the syndicate overseas. He and several other bag men sent to New Zealand “were just the guys on the ground”.

The lawyer said Hennessy seemed believable.

“He didn’t seem at all rehearsed, he wasn’t working from a script. If he wasn’t being genuine he is a f***ing good actor.”

‘Unbelievably stupid and gullible’

A 65-year-old’s victim impact statement was read aloud during Thursday’s Auckland District Court sentencing.

The woman said she felt “preyed upon”. She lost her appetite and struggled to sleep. The scam had eroded her self-confidence and trust.

Losing $10,000 had a profound effect on her and her husband’s future. They had come from “modest means” and had no way of recouping the stolen money.

“I was also robbed of my trust in others and belief in myself, which was a deeply disturbing state of mind. I no longer felt qualified to make any decision or undertake any responsibility. My right to spend money felt cancelled and I no longer wanted to engage with strangers.

“I felt incredibly remorseful for how unbelievably stupid and gullible I had been. The fact that you and your associates knew details about my life and the address of our family home was terrifying for me and my family.”

She said the method the scammers devised to abuse her trust in police was “violating”. She had not told anyone other than close family about her “misfortune”.

Hennessy sat expressionless in the dock, wearing a grey Mt Eden Corrections Facility tracksuit.

Judge Glubb said the agreed summary of facts ran to 21 pages.

Hennessy began offending the day after arriving in New Zealand.

“It couldn’t have been more planned or premeditated. This was a fraud that had been well mapped out.

“This was repeated and targeted offending against senior members of our community. Reprehensible, Mr Hennessy.”

Following his arrest, Hennessy refused to cooperate with police or name his co-offenders.

Though he had no previous convictions in this country, the judge noted: “You’d only just arrived.”

He said there were no mitigating features “whatsoever” and no evidence to back up Hennessy’s claims about the watch.

Hennessy — who the court heard was sorry and ashamed — would be deported upon his release from jail.

The judge said Hennessy had no family here, which would make his time in prison more difficult.

However, his victims had “no sympathy” and wanted him to be handed a severe punishment to prevent further offending.

The judge did not order reparation as Hennessy had no way to pay it but ruled that $26,000 seized when he was arrested be distributed among the victims.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton, from Auckland City’s Financial Crime Unit, said Hennessy’s short trip to New Zealand had turned into three years behind bars thanks to great police work.

“Right from the start our investigators were determined to make people aware and put a stop to this offending.

“It sends a message to the offshore organised criminal groups running these operations that we are not a soft target.”

Lane Nichols is Deputy Head of News and a senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years experience in the industry.

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