West Lothian conman who swindled thousands of pounds to feed online gambling habit jailed

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A callous conman who cheated partners and friends out of thousands of pounds to feed his online gambling habit has been jailed for almost four years.

Michael Higgins conned 12 pals into handing over large sums of cash after claiming he could organise cheap rounds of golf at the prestigious St Andrews Old Course in Fife.

Higgins, 42, also swindled women he met on dating websites out of cash after claiming he could supply one with cheap Apple products and telling another his sister needed help with vet bills.

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The crook also managed to convince a pensioner who worked for a loan company into sending him £6000 of her own funds after he claimed he had to go into a private hospital for an operation.

Higgins, from Livingston, West Lothian, then spent all the stolen cash on funding his gambling addiction and splashing out on designer clothes.

Conman Michael Higgins from Livingston, West Lothian.Conman Michael Higgins from Livingston, West Lothian.
Conman Michael Higgins from Livingston, West Lothian. | Alexander Lawrie

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told during the sentencing hearing today, Tuesday, December 3, that Higgins claimed he had been under the influence of opioid medication for an illness that had affected his decision making.

He had previously pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining a total of £18,225 from 15 victims between February 1, 2020 and May 28, 2022.

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Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss said: “You have pled guilty to a catalogue of crimes on indictment. Your deception was persistent and involved a very significant amount of money. You lied to your victims on multiple occasions over a period of years.

“You duped friends and fellow members [of golf clubs] into giving you money and they trusted you and you broke that trust again and again.”

The sheriff said he was “sceptical that the impact of the opioids and pain medication had on your choices” and described his crimes as “cold, persistent and calculated”.

Higgins was jailed for a total of three years, 10 months and 24 days and handed 10 year non-harassment orders banning him from having any contact with victims Fluer Brand and Katie Black.

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Previously fiscal depute Ruaridh Allison said Higgins befriended victims after meeting them at the Deer Park and Newbattle golf clubs claiming he could organise rounds at the exclusive Old Course at St Andrews in Fife for a fee of £145.

The men transferred hundreds of pounds into Higgins’ bank account but the promised rounds of golf never materialised despite him being confronted on several occasions.

Higgins also took several payments totalling £1475 from one pal who had been conned into believing he was paying for a three day golf holiday to Spain.

The court heard Higgins met ex-partners Fleur Brand and Katie Black on online dating sites and soon began fleecing them for cash.

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Ms Brand was told Higgins could obtain cheap Apple products through his work with a finance company and despite handing over £350 for an iPad Pro she failed to receive the item.

Ms Black was conned out of a total of £6160 after meeting the lying Romeo on Tinder in 2022. His scams included telling her his “online banking was not working” and that he later needed funds to help his sister with large vet bills for her cat.

The fiscal depute said Ms Black had eventually “used up all her savings” by handing over cash and one lie saw Higgins break down in tears claiming he needed cash as his mother had “no money for food”.

Mr Allison said a third woman met Higgins through her employment with a loan company but he had contacted her personally pleading for help pay for travel to London claiming he was going into hospital for treatment for a leg injury.

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The pensioner believed the web of lies and transferred a total of £6490 of her own cash into Higgins account after he had told her he “required money to eat” and “needed money for clothes”.

The court was told the elderly victim had made 127 cash transactions to Higgins over a two year period and when police informed her of the fraud she had thrown up on two occasions due to the shock.

The fiscal said a police investigation into Higgins began following a complaint to them by Ms Brand and more victims came forward after she had named and shamed him online in 2022.

Mr Allison added: “The banking records of the accused were seized and what can be seen in those banking records is the money being deposited to the accused has been used for payments on gambling websites.

“There are occasions when the funds have been used for purchases of designer clothing but by far and away the vast majority of the sums transferred were spent on gambling.”

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