London hotels conned by fraudster pretending to be Duke
A conman ran up huge bills at five-star London hotels by posing as the Duke of Marlborough, a distant relative of Winston Churchill.
Alexander Wood, 33, also pretended to be a senior British Airways manager ‘Colin Palmer’ and told one hotel to send all invoices to the airline.
He spent £10,000 over six weeks living at hotels in Mayfair, Kensington and Canary Wharf, a court was told. He was only caught when staff became suspicious when he was buying expensive rounds of drinks for his friends.
Prosecutors said Wood duped the Mayfair Hotel, the Grange Wellington and the Radisson Blu in Canary Wharf by pretending to be Jamie Spencer-Churchill.
Wood admitted 10 fraud charges and one count of making or supplying articles for use in fraud. He also admitted to one count of making off without payment and one of failing to surrender to a court at an appointed time.
In his defence, his lawyer said Wood was trying to recreate the comfortable lifestyle he’d enjoyed as a company director prior to being convicted of confidence fraud in a separate case.
He was arrested after booking a room at the Great Northern Hotel in May. He wasn’t initially asked for ID as staff said they thought it ‘inappropriate’ to ask a VIP to proof his identity, but they became suspicious when he started buying expensive drinks for friends.
The would-be toff of Southend in Essex was then asked for ID and he was later arrested in his room.
Wood was remanded in custody for sentence or psychological assessment on October 23.
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
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
All eyes on Qatar as Qatar Airways leads a season of global events