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The first time Yvonne met Gary Rogers he arrived at her house in a shiny black Range Rover smelling of Armani Code perfume, with neatly gelled silver hair. It was August 2017, and Yvonne’s ex-husband had suggested she ask the motor dealer, known locally as the “Jag man”, to fix her car.
Yvonne* says their relationship developed slowly. “Gary” boasted he had been spending time on his 42-ft boat, claimed to own two houses, and once turned up in a Porsche to take her for a drink. As they began to see more of each other, he would arrive at Yvonne’s house with freshly cut fruit and smoked salmon, always with a wad of money on him.
“He was friendly, outgoing and easy to talk to,” the 68-year-old says. “He was throwing his money around buying drinks. He was the life and soul.”
But Gary Rogers’s real name was Richard Robinson, and in July 2020 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and theft. He was later convicted of witness intimidation and two counts of battery. He had conned two women, one of whom was Yvonne, out of more than £210,000 between 2017 and 2018.
Robinson has now been released from prison early, after serving four years of his sentence, under a scheme brought in by the Conservative government to ease overcrowding.
Speaking for the first time since his release, Yvonne told the Observer she has fled the UK, fearing for her safety. She lost more than £115,000 to Robinson during their relationship and says he was violent towards her, including once trying to throttle her.
Cases of romance fraud are on the rise in the UK, increasing by 27% between 2020 and 2024, according to data from a Freedom of Information request to Action Fraud. There were 8,548 cases of romance fraud in the UK last year, with more than £92m lost by victims. Yvonne worked with her bank’s fraud department to recover £31,000 of the money Robinson took from her. But she says the money is a drop in the ocean compared to the overall impact the ordeal has had on her life.
Robinson was supremely charming, an “utter master”, she says. He would go out of his way to help her. Yvonne was a carer for a disabled man at the time, and Robinson took advantage of the fact this left her isolated. “I couldn’t get out of the house,” she says. “I couldn’t leave [the man I was caring for] … He was in a hospital bed. So I had no respite. I had no help. It was very, very difficult. Robinson exploited my exhaustion.”
The man she had been caring for died and, on the day of his funeral, in February 2018, Yvonne says Robinson took her to the bank. She had taken diazepam after being prescribed it by her GP. “That day is quite fuzzy. I can remember I wanted to go to bed after the funeral and instead somehow he led me into the Range Rover and said ‘come on, we’ll go to the bank’. I ended up transferring money to him.” Robinson managed to convince her to transfer him £50,000 that day.
A month later, Yvonne received an anonymous letter telling her that she was at risk, with newspaper clippings about Robinson’s history of fraud. He had been jailed in 2013 for similar offences. Yvonne confronted him. He denied her accusations and grew incensed, she says. “His forefinger and thumb were pinching my nose so I couldn’t breathe. And his left hand was round my left shoulder and his huge thumb was pressing into my windpipe so I couldn’t breathe. I was choking to death.” Yvonne managed to break free and lock herself in a bathroom to call the police.
After her ordeal, Robinson was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She has no current plans to return to the UK. “As long as that man is breathing, I’m not safe.”
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Lisa Mills, senior fraud manager at Victim Support, which advised Yvonne, said more victims may be coming forward to report the crime, as awareness increases. Many romance fraudsters often continue to operate with impunity, she said, as not enough are brought to justice.
Although Yvonne met her fraudster in person, there has been a surge in romance fraud since the pandemic due to an “explosion” in dating apps and more people looking for love or friendship online.
“I hope my story will help others,” Yvonne says. “When will crimes of fraud against women be taken seriously? These con-men rip your life apart and destroy families. These types of criminals will never stop. They can’t be reformed.”
A spokesperson for the Prison and Probation Service said: “Offenders released on licence must obey strict rules. We will not hesitate to send them back to prison if they break them.”
A spokesperson for the City of London police, the national lead force for fraud, said: “Attitudes toward romance fraud need to change. Shame, stigma and victim-blaming remain prevalent, preventing many from coming forward. Ultimately, anyone can be situationally vulnerable.”
*Name has been changed
