A CARDIFF man who posed as a BBC worker, MI6 agent and American lawyer to trick women into sending him money has been jailed for more than five years.
Rodney Ade Roberts, aged 40, of Trowbridge, Cardiff, was sentenced at Newport Crown Court to five years and one month in prison after admitting three counts of fraud by false representation.
Roberts, who also used the alias “Paul Smith”, targeted women through online dating sites and social media between 2021 and 2024, defrauding three victims of a combined £49,580.
The court heard Roberts told elaborate lies about his identity and career in order to gain the trust of his victims. On different occasions he claimed to be an American attorney and financier, a BBC television producer and even an intelligence officer working for MI6.
Investigators from the Proactive Economic Crime Team at the Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit, working with South Wales Police, uncovered the fraud after victims reported their suspicions.
In one case Roberts convinced a woman he had met in February 2021 that he was an American financial expert working in the UK. He later told her this was a cover story and that he actually worked for the intelligence services.
He persuaded the woman to invest large sums of money in a fake investment opportunity, even encouraging her to sell her home so she could invest further funds. He also asked her to open a bank account in her name for him to use, and secretly created a cryptocurrency account using her details.
Another victim, Rachel Serjeant, aged 30, from Bristol, met Roberts on a dating app in October 2022. Introducing himself as Paul Smith from California, he claimed to work in media and law.
Over several months he persuaded her to send him money, including £150 on Christmas Eve for a car tyre after warning he would not visit her on Boxing Day if she refused. By January 2023 he had taken £980.
In a victim statement she said: “The betrayal of trust is far deeper than the loss of the money. Everything I believed to be real was not. He didn’t even tell me his real name.”
Roberts also defrauded a freelance artist he met online in March 2024 after claiming he was an American television producer working for the BBC on a two-year visa.
He showed the woman a fake BBC lanyard and identification card and even walked with her to BBC Cymru Wales’ headquarters in Central Square in Cardiff, claiming it was his workplace.
During their five-month relationship he persuaded her to send him £8,660, including £4,000 which he claimed he needed as a deposit for a flat because he could not access his American bank account.
Roberts also fabricated stories about family bereavements and investment opportunities to persuade the women to continue sending money.
The court heard Roberts has a history of similar offending dating back to 2015, with six previous convictions for seven fraud offences, including romance scams.
Sentencing him, Judge Celia Hughes described his behaviour as a “massive abuse of trust”, calling him “selfish and narcissistic” with no regard for the impact on his victims.
She praised the women for their bravery and told them they should not blame themselves for what had happened.
Days before the start of his trial Roberts admitted the offences and received a reduced sentence for his guilty pleas.
In addition to the prison sentence he has been made subject to a serious crime prevention order and banned from contacting the three women. He has also been ordered to repay the money he stole within two years.
Detective Constable Amanda Davies of Tarian ROCU said romance fraud was a particularly damaging crime.
“Offenders deliberately exploit trust and vulnerability,” she said.
“Victims can be left with not only significant financial losses but also psychological distress and embarrassment, which can prevent them from reporting the offence.”
She urged anyone forming relationships online to remain cautious and report suspected fraud to Action Fraud.
