Fake Duke jailed for swindling London hotels
A conman who racked up £12,000 of hotel bills by posing as the 12th Duke of Marlborough has been jailed for three and a half years.
Alexander Wood defrauded six top London hotels, including Claridges where he spent £1,788 over three days between February and July this year.
The 34-year-old from Southend in Essex was arrested in May after checking into the Great Northern Hotel in King’s Cross as Lord Jamie Spencer, attempting to impersonate the Duke of Marlborough who is called Jamie Spencer-Churchill.
Staff became suspicious after he started buying expensive drinks for friends, running up a bill of £1,738. When they asked him for ID, he walked out of the hotel but was later caught by police.
While on bail, his spending spree continued and he racked up bills of nearly £8,000 at hotels in Mayfair, Canary Wharf and South Kensington before being arrested again in July.
He admitted fraud by false representation at Southwark Crown Court but claimed he was hiding from a former employee who threatening to kill him and his family.
Wood said five-star hotels could afford to be cheated out of money, but in passing sentence Judge Alistair McCreath said he didn’t accept Wood was under threat and that he was driven by greed.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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