Ex-public schoolboy jailed for $1m con of wealthy divorcee admitted he could 'lie as easily as breathe'

 
Justice: Estate agent Nina Siegenthaler says she is satisfied with conman Alistair Stewart's (insert) sentence
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An estate agent conned out of $1million by a smooth-talking fraudster today welcomed his jail sentence as she tried to get on with her life.

Alistair Stewart, 53, was jailed for five and a half years at the Old Bailey for persuading Nina Siegenthaler to give him her £629,000 savings.

The ex-public school boy posed as a Goldman Sachs billionaire and claimed to be running his own hedge fund in Switzerland.

But he spent the money on hiring helicopters and private jets, paid £55,000 for a Mercedes and chauffeur and stayed at the world’s most luxurious hotels.

Ms Siegenthaler, who fell in love with Stewart and believed him to be a “financial wizard”, told the Evening Standard: “I am satisfied that justice has been served and am doing my best to put this incident behind me and move forward with my life.”

She added that she hoped her experience would act as a warning to others.

After Stewart was led to the cells, the 37-year-old described him as “one of the most intelligent and charismatic” men she had ever known.

She said: “He is a brilliant liar. He confided in me: ‘I lie as easily as I breathe.’

“He will stop at nothing to manipulate and con anyone. He is genuinely brilliant and very charming but is also a very dangerous man.

“He is also a cunning predator - a man without conscience or moral compass, someone who draws people to him not just to steal their money but to steal their self-worth and dignity.

“I personally have experienced a profound sense of violation on many levels.

“I want to underscore the seriousness of the shock and trauma that resulted from this deception.

“His insatiable desire to dupe leaves a path of destruction in its wake.”

On top of the $1 million, Stewart even persuaded Ms Siegenthaler to give him another $250,000 in expenses.

She had been targeted because he knew she was emotionally vulnerable at the time as she went through divorce proceedings.

She fell in love with him in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean where she has lived since 1981 and works for Sotheby’s International Realty.

Stewart pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between August 2010 and January 2011 and a further 11 counts of fraud involving four victims were left on the file.

Jailing Stewart, Judge Stephen Kramer QC said: “You are an intelligent man who is no stranger to fraud but this is a significant escalation.

“You have caused your victim immense psychological harm as well as financial loss.”

Stewart is a former Charterhouse pupil who dropped out of Cambridge University and has harboured resentment since being disinherited by his wealthy parents.

He was convicted of similar frauds in 1982, 1988 and 1992 and, in 2005, was jailed for two years for conning an elderly widow for more than six years.

Prosecutor Benn Maguire said Stewart had been “adept at targeting victims who were emotionally vulnerable and manipulating their weaknesses to his financial and personal advantage and persuading them to dance to his particular tune”.

He had contacted Ms Siegenthaler claiming to want to buy an island retreat after 20 years at Goldman Sachs where he had been co-head of its property trading team.

Stewart claimed he had funds in Switzerland and would invest her savings alongside his own money on the stock market.

“Unfortunately she took the bait and he used her funds to finance his lifestyle and support the image he had created of himself,” said Mr Maguire.

Stewart even bought Ms Siegenthaler a £31,000 watch as a present using her own money.

Since his arrest, Stewart, who has mental health issues, has been treated at the Priory clinic and repaid $150,000 to his victim. He faces further confiscation hearings in May.

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