Tinder scammer who raped woman and defrauded others of £214,000 goes to prison

A Tinder scammer who “exploited women looking for love” by raping one victim and defrauding the others of £214,000 has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Christopher Harkins, 37, targeted single women on the online dating app and tried to gain their trust by posing as a successful businessman. He then claimed he was having problems with his bank account being frozen and asked some of his victims to lend him money for a short period of time, prosecutors said.

Some of his victims borrowed significant sums to help Harkins, who left, as the judge put it, “a trail of emotional devastation and financial distress”. He pleaded guilty to fraud charges at the High Court in Glasgow on 16 January. Following a trial at the High Court in Paisley in May, Harkins was found guilty of raping a woman and was also convicted of filming two women in intimate situations without their consent and then sending them the visual content.

Judge Alistair Watson sentenced Christopher Harkins to 12 years in prison at the High Court in Kilmarnock on Wednesday. He said Harkins committed 19 separate offences against 10 different victims over a period of almost six years and defrauded nine of those victims of more than £214,000.

In his verdict, the judge said: “The damage you have caused is extremely high. Many of your victims have been deprived of all or part of their personal savings, causing some to experience financial difficulties. These scams are commonly referred to as romance scams. The court recognises that this is a special type of scam that exploits a person’s sympathy and feelings. Your fabricated requests and explanations regarding your need for money were in fact calculated tricks designed to exploit the decency of these women.

“It is obvious that this particular type of fraud can have devastating psychological effects on victims, not to mention the financial loss. I have taken the time to read the victim stories of several victims of these crimes. They describe in detail the feelings of shame, humiliation, stress and exhaustion they suffered as a result of their criminal behavior.”

Harkins, from Helensburgh in Argyll and Bute, also persuaded some of the women to send him money for holidays by sending them screenshots of alleged destinations. He persuaded them to pay half the cost but never booked the trips and did not return most of the funds given to him.

His offences took place between 2013 and 2019 in the areas of Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Dumbarton, East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley and Stirling, the Crown Office said. The 37-year-old’s name has been placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and he has also been given a restraining order prohibiting Harkins from contacting or attempting to contact ten victims indefinitely.

Katrina Parkes, Scotland’s sex offender prosecutor, said: “Christopher Harkins clearly poses an extreme danger to women through his calculating, manipulative and violent behaviour. His numerous victims have shown tremendous courage by coming forward and reporting him to the authorities.”

“This conviction will hopefully provide some comfort to the women he targeted and protect others from his deplorable schemes and depraved actions. This was a complex case and I thank the prosecution for their efforts in securing this conviction.”

Lyndsay Laird, Detective Chief Inspector at Police Scotland, said: “Christopher Harkins is a violent and despicable individual who preys on women seeking love and companionship. His only motive was money. Harkins met the woman on a dating app and after developing a relationship with her, he resorted to manipulation, threats, coercive control and violence to obtain thousands of pounds to fund his very lavish lifestyle. The fact that he has been convicted is a huge credit to the women who came forward to police.”