A romance scammer who charmed women he dated out of £100,000 to fund a luxury lifestyle has been jailed.

David Checkley bought Harley Davidson motorbikes, Mercedes cars and a Rolex watch with money he conned out of women while pretending to be a fighter pilot, Vietnam veteran, an architect or the ex-husband of a billionaire.

Checkley, who used the alias David Cohen, was arrested two years ago at the Harrow home of a woman with whom he had been in a relationship.

The woman told officers that she had dated Checkley for around five years and that he stayed at her house three days a week.

During a search of her home, police found invoices relating to the purchase of expensive jewellery, a brochure for a large mansion in Hertfordshire and a receipt in a woman’s name for a £7,250 Rolex watch purchased in 2018.

Two new Harley Davidson motorbikes worth around £40,000, which had been purchased using Checkley’s account, were found in the garage.

A Mini and three Mercedes all linked to Checkley were also found parked nearby.

Ham & High: Motorbikes and cars belonging to Checkley were all found at the home in HarrowMotorbikes and cars belonging to Checkley were all found at the home in Harrow (Image: Metropolitan Police)

Police subsequently discovered another victim when searching an address in Westminster, unearthing bank statements with accounts he had asked women to pay money into.

The 65-year-old’s arrest came after police received numerous reports of Checkley behaving suspiciously from his victims. They were all women aged between 40 and 70.

Detectives began an investigation and discovered he was linked to fraud offences across the country, targeting women of the same age.

Police have revealed that Checkley fabricated stories about his past to trick victims into believing he was a powerful man, before encouraging them to send him money.

Ham & High: A police mugshot of David CheckleyA police mugshot of David Checkley (Image: Met Police)

His lies included him being a fighter pilot, a Vietnam War veteran, and a successful architect, as well as having powerful friends and an ex-wife who was an American billionaire.

Ten victims gave evidence during Checkley’s trial, which lasted for eight weeks.

Police said it was estimated that Checkley had defrauded the women of around £100,000.

Checkley, of Bains Drive, St Albans, was jailed for 11 years at the Old Bailey today (November 29).

It comes after he was found guilty of 19 counts of fraud and one count of theft.

Detective Superintendent John Roch, from the Met’s Economic Crime Team, said: “There is no doubt that Checkley is a prolific and systematic fraudster who spun a web of lies to his victims.

“He abused the honest intentions of his victims in the most callous way.

“He is a fantasist who claimed to lead an enviable lifestyle but in reality, he is a criminal who deceived innocent people for his own financial gain.”