Fraudster Son Scams 66-Year-Old Father, Steals His Life Savings To Buy Range Rover

A fraudster scammed his own father and stole all of his life savings after pretending as an investment banker.

27-year-old Peter Simmons of Strood, England, has forced his 66-year-old father to end his retirement days and go back to work after he stole around £388,000 (approximately $5,50,640) from his life savings.

The man called his father Peter Simmons Senior and posed as an investment banker called Paul Newman.

He introduced himself as an administrator who was assisting the victim’s late wife in the family’s tree surgery business.

The father approached the bank after he noticed multiple unknown transactions debiting huge amounts of money from his savings account.

The man realized that he was being scammed when he visited the bank with his other children. The bank authorities told the man that no one called Paul Newman worked there.

"Not only did I lose my entire savings but it has destroyed the brilliant relationship I had with my son and created a divide I am unsure will ever be resolved," Simmon Senior told reporters.

"Peter left me with nothing...and I was forced out of retirement and back to work," the father added.

Maidstone Crown Court on Monday, May 17, heard that Simmons made 597 bank transfers from his father's personal account between June 2015 and October 2018.

During the same period, he also used his father’s personal account to make 1,469 unauthorized bank transfers to online betting accounts.

"During this period the family were aware he was spending a large amount of money. He explained it by saying that he earned it through gambling," Kent Online quoted Prosecutor Bridget Todd as saying.

"Mr. Simmons Sr said his son was convincing and he believed he was receiving large sums through gambling, enabling him to buy high-value watches and even an £80,000 Range Rover in August 2018," Todd said.

Simmons was found guilty of fraud and will serve three and a half years of jail time.

The prosecutor confirmed that the Barclays Bank has since refunded Simmons senior a sum of £321,385.