A man who targeted an elderly, vulnerable man and stole more than £40,000 from him has been jailed.
Richard Morgan, 51, first spoke to the victim while he was walking to his home in Whittlesford, South Cambridgeshire, in July 2019.
Morgan followed him back to his house and quoted him £6,000 for work on his garden, including weeding and laying some gravel.
Although he thought it was expensive, the victim agreed, and Morgan and two unknown men began the work.
Morgan later explained they needed to be paid in cash, so drove the victim to different cashpoints and banks across the county to withdraw the total amount.
Once he had secured the money for the garden work, Morgan asked the victim if he would mind buying him a watch for his girlfriend and he agreed.
Morgan took the victim to a watch shop in Essex a few days later and told staff the victim was his grandfather.
Morgan asked the victim to purchase him a £35,000 Rolex watch, and the transaction was caught on CCTV.
After they had left, the shop manager called police to express their concern.
Officers obtained the victim’s details and footage from the shop and attended his home in Cambridgeshire to check he was ok.
During their visit, the victim said Morgan would be at his house shortly. Officers waited and arrested him when he arrived.
Morgan, of Warwick Avenue, Bedford, pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and was sentenced to six years and two months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday.
Detective Constable Rachel Brown, who investigated, said: “Morgan targeted a vulnerable man in what can only be described as the most immoral of crimes.
“He left him significantly out of pocket in an appalling act of theft and I am so glad justice has been done today. I hope it goes to show how seriously we take these sorts of crimes.”
