You should act, judge tells weeping conman

A British conman wept in the dock at Christchurch District Court today as Judge Jane Farish told him: "You should consider taking up work as an actor."

William Thomas O'Connor, 30, from Northhampton was jailed for two years and three months after admitting conning New Zealand buyers on the internet out of nearly $70,000, the Christchurch Court News website reported.

The court was told that after completing his sentence he faced being deported or extradited to Britain where he was also likely to face further charges.

He was illegally in New Zealand and was caught when he tried to leave the country on a false passport as police closed in on him.

He fled Britain in February 2008 with his partner and four children, and two more children have been born since.

He was in New Zealand illegally and his wife and six children were deported in April, accompanied by a social worker, at a total cost to the New Zealand taxpayer of $21,000.

O'Connor stood shaking in the dock then bowed his head and wept, as Judge Farish told him: "I think you are a pathological liar.

"You should consider taking up employment as an actor. You are a conman who fools everybody you come into contact with. There is no substance whatever in any of your claims."

O'Connor had pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining money by deception, and one of producing a passport he knew had been obtained fraudulently.

He absconded from Britain when he was on police bail on money laundering charges.

Soon after arriving in New Zealand, he and a co-offender set about a sophisticated fraud offering goods for sale on the internet which they knew would be highly attractive to people in Britain. He sold horses and tractors which never existed, making sales for between $12,791 and $58,655.

When he found police were investigating and seeking to interview him, he used the false passport to try to leave the country but was stopped at the airport on March 10.

His family has raised $20,000 to pay his victims, and that money was transferred from Britain by his father over the weekend and is now in the court's bank account. O'Connor himself is paying $2000 which is in his own account.

His jail sentence was reduced because of the reparation payments and the early guilty pleas.

Judge Farish told him: "You need to understand that New Zealand is not a soft option in terms of offending. The police are very thorough and there are penalties imposed on people who come here thinking this is an easy target."

- NZPA