A “heartless” fraudster has been jailed for conning vulnerable pensioners out of their savings.
During a spree last year, Robert Mearns targeted one 68-year-old with learning difficulties and robbed him of £982 at his sheltered housing complex in Aberdeen.
On another occasion, in Peterhead, he stole an 85-year-old woman’s purse containing £260 after already duping her out of £40.
The 34-year-old operated the scam by pretending to have cut-price cigarettes to sell, and eventually accrued about £2,800.
Mearns admitted 12 charges – six of fraud and six of theft – yesterday at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, and was jailed for two years.
He carried out the scheme between August 26 and November 1, and his victims ranged in age from 45 to 85.
Fiscal, Vicki Bell, said the accused mainly targeted people in Peterhead but twice struck at addresses in Aberdeen. She explained that he called at the homes of complete strangers on every occasion, offering them discount cigarettes or tobacco.
She added: “On one occasion, in Peterhead, a 77-year-old man refused the offer of cheap cigarettes but the accused entered his home through an unlocked front door and asked for a glass of water. While the occupant did that Mearns grabbed his wallet, containing £200, and made off.
“The accused took £820 from a 67-year-old woman, who had been saving money to decorate her home, when left unattended in her sitting room.
“The 85-year-old victim had been distracted by fetching paracetamol for the accused after he claimed to have a sore head, and he stole her purse containing £260.”
Mearns also pleaded guilty to stealing £982 from a 68-year-old man with learning difficulties at the Donview House sheltered housing complex in Aberdeen, after appearing at his property under the pretence that he was there to sell him tobacco.
Mearns, who appeared on remand from HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, is a serial offender who has been sentenced to prison 10 times previously for similar crimes.
Defence agent, Ian McGregor, said his latest incarceration had been a “wake-up call” for his client, who is now eager to address his problems with drugs.
Sheriff William Summers told Mearns: “It’s troubling that you clearly preyed on the elderly, insidiously working your way into their homes and stealing from them. That is particularly heartless.
“The sums involved were significant to those they were taken from during this systematic course of conduct.”
