A man who defrauded men he met on Tinder and Bumble out of nearly £30,000 has been jailed.

Thomas Godden, 26, posed as a gay man seeking to enter a relationship to gain his victims’ trust before asking them to send him money.

All the while, Godden was in a heterosexual relationship and deceived the men about his intention to form meaningful romantic partnerships.

In total, the three men were defrauded out of a total of £28,502.96 between them. After pleading guilty, Godden was today sentenced to three years' imprisonment at Canterbury Crown Court.

Claire Campbell, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS London South said: “Thomas Godden callously exploited well-intentioned men seeking connection by stealing thousands of pounds and causing them serious harm.

“Romance fraud is a cruel crime that preys on the unique trust that exists in intimate relationships and shows real manipulation - with Godden even telling one of his victims that the police would not take him seriously should he report the crime.

“We hope today’s sentence shows that the Crown Prosecution Service will never hesitate to prosecute these cases when there is enough evidence to do so.”

Over a period of two years, Godden convinced his victims to send him money, claiming it was for day-to-day living costs and that he would pay them back once he had the funds – although this was never his intention.

Each victim made numerous payments to him and when they asked when he might repay their money, the fraudster would turn hostile, emotionally blackmail them and threaten to end the relationship.

On several occasions Godden promised to meet one victim only to leave him stranded after he had travelled a considerable distance.

Godden’s crimes left one of his victims in significant debt as he was defrauded of £26,483.06 over a two year period. His other victims were defrauded of £1,869.90 and £150.00 respectively but were able to be reimbursed by their banks after reporting the fraud.