Sign in / up

back to article Fake IBM playboy pleads guilty

A 36-year old Dutch man conned thousands of pounds out of show jumpers and horse riding fans by claiming to be the son of a big boss at IBM. George Carlo Schouten of Finchampstead, Berkshire said his old man was helping out by sponsoring his show jumping team, a Reading court heard yesterday. He convinced one of Britain's …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Stef 4

    £360 per day?

    £360 per day? £93600 per annum?

    I guess with a previous conviction for fraud, it was the only job he could get. And they say crime doesn't pay.

    "Prison sentence was likely". He stole a minimum of £70000, and the sentence was "likely". How much does one need to steal to make it mandatory?

    4 0
    1. Gareth 28
      Reply Icon

      360 per day

      I have a feeling that's actually £360 a week before tax, even still it's a high wage, knowing the average wage for a stable hand is around £12-13k.

      1 0
      1. Marvin the Martian
        Reply Icon
        WTF?

        Error indeed.

        There's that, plus the "playboy lifestyle" presumeably wearing IBM-branded jockey stuff. Doubt it gives you VIP access anywhere, and only access to clubs you don't want to be.

        0 0
    2. John H Woods Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      log10 error

      That's got to be £36 per day. Or I'm in the wrong job. Or my wife's not telling me something.

      0 0
  2. GazElm
    WTF?

    How much?

    £360 per day? As a labourer? It can't be that unpleasant shovelling horse shit that they need to pay that much...

    0 0
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    £360 a day!

    "[he is] currently working as a labourer in a stables in Sussex for £360 a day". Some mistake surely? That'd be upwards of 80k a year!

    1 0
  4. Andy ORourke
    WTF?

    I'm in the wrong job!

    "His defending barrister said he wished to repay the money and was currently working as a labourer in a stables in Sussex for £360 a day."

    £360 per day x 5 days per week x 50 weeks per year = £90K a YEAR as a LABOURER, where do I sign up, greedy bastard!

    1 0
  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Even his barrister fell for his lies?

    £360 a day for playing a stable hand? If that's even true it's before taxes. But knowing the guy's previously convicted for fraud, I don't believe a word of it.

    0 0
  6. John Browne
    WTF?

    £360......

    £360 a day? as a labourer?

    I'm sure the barrister didn't think that sounded outrageous considering that barristers charge that by the hour.

    0 0
  7. Russ Tarbox

    £360 a day for shovelling shit?

    I'm in the wrong industry...

    0 0
  8. lansalot
    WTF?

    WHAT ???

    £360 a day, for shovelling shit !????

    Pass me a shovel - I'm sooo in the wrong job...

    1 0
  9. The BigYin

    £360 a day?

    £1,800 a week? £~86,000 a year? Screw IT, I'm off to muck-out stables!

    0 0
  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another rags to riches story

    >A 36-year old Dutch man conned thousands of pounds out of show jumpers and horse riding fans by claiming to be the son of a big boss at IBM.

    He was claiming to be Bill Gates? Oh, wait, that was different sort of relationship.

    0 0
  11. Hedley Phillips

    £360 per day?

    And yes there is an echo!

    Are there any jobs going? I wouldn't mind shovelling poo for that that wage.

    0 0
  12. Lionel Baden
    WTF?

    I would shovel shit for that amount

    read title

    0 0
  13. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    What?!?

    "His defending barrister said he wished to repay the money and was currently working as a labourer in a stables in Sussex for £360 a day"

    This is a joke, right? Typo? Mis-print?

    £360 PER DAY for shovelling shit? REALLY? I'm in the wrong job.

    0 0
  14. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    The gullible...

    and money are soon separated.

    If a deal looks to good to be true, it is.

    0 0
  15. Sweeping Brush

    360 quid a day to shovel shit!!!

    Hand me a shovel!

    0 0
  16. nibs
    Coat

    how much per day !!!

    if you can £360 per day working in a stables mucking out horses sh*t i'm in the wrong profession.

    i'm to find a new job.

    0 0
  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    If he really is working in a stable and paying the money back

    Then putting him in prison is a really bad idea. In prison he costs the tax payer £100 a day. It should be easy enough to stop him reoffending while he's on parole.

    1 0
    1. Nuke
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      You'll be his next victim ..

      ... if you believe things like that. The people I have known ordered to receive compensation from crooks never got a penny. The legal system is too overloaded to bother with things like that - unless you are prepared to pay a lawyer to pursue what will almost certainly be a wild goose chase.

      Anyway, how could you (among others) expect to get £30k back from a guy earning only £360 a week (assuming that amount was meant), even with the best will in the world.

      One-to-One compensation alone is no deterrent anyway. As long as the chance of getting caught AND having to pay back is <100%, committing the crime is a worthwhile deal for a crook.

      0 0
  18. Gert Selkobi
    Alert

    Confirmation required

    Can El Reg please confirm the day rate, as I'm waiting to tell my boss where to stick the job so I can go and shovel shit for good money.

    2 0
  19. Giddy Kipper

    I emailed the Telegraph ...

    ... in disbelief, and Andrew Hough replied;

    Hello,

    Thanks for your email.

    Yes as unbelievable as it sounds, that is what his lawyer told the court yesterday. £20k in 3 months?

    Cheers

    Andrew

    So c'mon you lot, bollox to IT, we've got shit to shovel!

    1 0
  20. Chaosechoz
    Boffin

    Finchamstead, Berkshire

    OH MY GOD!... 1st time in god knows how many years of being an ever loyal reghead have I actually known someone spoken about in the news... I am from the Finchampstead area of Berky!!! how wierd

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.