Dubbed “the Puppetmaster” in the British press, Robert Hendy-Freegard cultivated deep psychological influence over his victims, which he exercised callously and cruelly (per The Guardian). Among his many deceptions and coercive acts, Freegard has left at least two women nearly starving, imprisoned others, physically abused others, and even attempted to get one to kill her own son (via “Crafty Crooks & Conmen“). Freegard’s primary victims funneled all their income back to him, leaving them destitute; he also coerced his victims into taking out exorbitant loans or extorting money from their families (as the BBC reported, sometimes both).

In 2005, Freegard’s lifestyle caught up to him: He was convicted of fraud and kidnapping by the Crown Court at Blackfriars and sentenced to life in prison. He did not, ultimately, end up serving this sentence — he won an appeal in 2007 to get the kidnapping convictions overturned and was released from prison in 2009 (as noted by The Independent). Once a favorite of the British penny press, Freegard’s post-prison life was, in contrast, one of obscurity until Netflix released a documentary in January 2022, which is bad news for any con man.