A Facebook fraudster conned victims out of more than a thousand pounds with fake sales of sheds and garden furniture to fund a cocaine and gambling addiction.
Thomas Hopkins, of Essetford Road, Ashford, later threatened and goaded his victims over social media, telling one: “You won’t get me, but I got you”.
Margate magistrates heard the social media swindler asked for money upfront for homemade carpentry products, but never delivered the goods.
Terry Knox, prosecuting, said: “The first instance was on June 8, 2021, when Ms Deavin contacted Mr Hopkins after he advertised on Facebook Marketplace that he can make sheds and deliver them.
“They meet in Starbucks and she hands him an envelope with £800 cash in it.”
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But later that day, 30-year-old Hopkins messaged the woman to say that she had only given him £600 and demanded she send him a further £200 through a GoHenry account.
He then claimed the money had not come through, so Ms Deavin sent a further £100.
“What are you going to do about it? You won’t get me, but I got you…”
Mr Knox said: “After this, he sends persistent messages asking when she would send more money and threatening not to deliver the shed, with one warning her: ‘Remember, I know where you live.’”
For months during the summer of 2021, Hopkins ran this con in and around Canterbury, raking in a total of £1,350.
His next victims were Mr Gauntlet and his wife, who also innocently contacted the crook via Facebook, where he was using the fake name of Tom Hilton.
In a victim impact statement read aloud to Margate Magistrates’ Court, Mr Gauntlet said he had intended to buy garden furniture for his niece who had recently lost a child and was in the process of doing up her garden.
Mr Gauntlet paid the dodgy dealer £150 up-front for the furniture before making his way to a pick-up location.
But as the would-be buyer was on his way, he received a message from Hopkins asking for another £150.
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When Mr Gauntlet arrived at the location he realised it was a fake set-up.
“I messaged him to say I knew he was a scammer, but he sent me messages goading me,” recalled Mr Gauntlet.
“He said: ‘What are you going to do about it? You won’t get me, but I got you.’”
Hopkins repeated his scam with a third victim – Mr Irons – whom he similarly swindled out of £100 before messaging him numerous times to say he was stupid.
“He started to dabble with cocaine and it developed into a bit of an issue and he also got into gambling…”
Mitigating, Hopkins’ solicitor Rob Quinn said that his client was running the racket to maintain “expensive addictions”.
“Mr Hopkins used to work for the family business, which was tree surgery and he was making good money,” said Mr Quinn.
“At this time he started to dabble with cocaine and it developed into a bit of an issue and he also got into gambling.”
The solicitor explained that while Hopkins was earning a high salary, his costly vices did not cause him much bother, but after the pandemic hit and business dried up his situation became desperate.
“He began to downward spiral with these two expensive addictions and soon found himself [on the] street, homeless,” explained Mr Quinn.
“He admits that he was doing this fraud to feed these two addictions that he had at the time.”
Mr Quinn went on to say that Hopkins has since been doing much better, has been drug-free for eight months and no longer gambles.
“He’s started working for Brakes frozen food company and has recently been given a managerial position there,” the solicitor said.
“He’s also got himself a place to live in Ashford, has a stable relationship and is expecting the birth of his first son on August 21.”
Hopkins appeared in court on Thursday wearing a navy suit and white shirt.
“These individuals have lost their money for more than two years, so they deserve to be compensated quickly…”
He pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud and remained emotionless as chair magistrate Christopher Mackenny handed down his punishment.
“Mr Hopkins, we’ve seriously considered whether your crimes cross the threshold for a custodial sentence,” said Mr Mackenny
“However taking everything into account, we think it doesn’t quite reach that level.
“So we’re giving you a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation.
“You will pay back compensation to the individuals – £1,100 to Ms Deavin, £150 to Mr Gauntlet and £100 to Mr Irons.”
The fraudster was also ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £95.
“It would be good for you to pay as much as you can as fast as you can,” added the magistrate.
“These individuals have lost their money for more than two years, so they deserve to be compensated quickly.”
