Originally published 18 Sep 2012;
When Leanne Carter met Ian Curran, she thought she’d found the man of her dreams. But scheming Ian went on to steal thousands of pounds from her and cheated with four women.
Shockingly, the conman, 34, “treated” Leanne to an all-inclusive luxury break to Ibiza that she’d unknowingly paid for herself and told her he was in love with her but, when they arrived home, Leanne received a phone call that blew her world apart.
'She discovered he'd run up a debt of £5,000'
A mystery caller revealed Ian was a conman who’d stolen money from other women and, when Leanne opened her credit card bill, she discovered he’d run up a debt of £5,000. She later found intimate emails from Ian to four other women.
Curran is now in jail for stealing from another woman, but Leanne – who’s now single – worries she’ll never trust a man again. She says: “I can’t believe I fell for Ian’s lies. But I loved him and never dreamed he’d hurt me.”
Leanne, from Southport, Lancashire, met Curran in February on a dating website. She says: “A lot of my exes hurt me, so I wanted to meet someone nice. Ian messaged me and seemed genuine. He said he was a plumber, had two-year-old twin girls and found it hard to meet women.”
The pair met three weeks later. She says: “He was even better-looking in the flesh and there was a spark. We went for a meal and he paid. After that, he started calling me ‘The Mrs.’ It felt soon, but I was flattered. I slept with him a month later and he was very affectionate. I was so happy.”
Leanne started seeing Ian, who lived 15 miles away, three times a week. She says: “He was often away, but said he was with his kids. He told me he wanted a family with me. I was thrilled.”
But Leanne admits some of Ian’s behaviour was odd. She says: “I wanted to meet his kids, but something always cropped up. He was hard to pin down. He was always on his phone to work, it would ring in the middle of the night and he never let go of it. On the phone he sometimes sounded distant – and wouldn’t say ‘I love you.’ I wondered if he was embarrassed in front of his mates – but now I realise he was probably with other women. I did have doubts, but I ignored them – we were happy, I didn’t want to spoil it. Most of my friends were settled and I wanted that too.”
Three months after they met, Ian suggested a holiday to Ibiza together. She says: “I was surprised, when he booked it, as we hadn’t been together long, but he said not to worry about money.”
'He always had wads of cash. He said he'd been doing extra jobs'
A month later, they flew to a four-star hotel in Ibiza. She says: “He always had wads of cash. He said he’d been doing extra jobs.”
But a week after returning, Leanne got a terrible shock. She says: “Ian called. He said he was in prison after getting into a fight over some trouble with gambling debts. He begged me to stand by him and said he’d be out in four months – he made it seem like the charges weren’t that serious and said he would get help for his gambling. He told me he hadn’t confided in me as he’d been worried I’d dump him. I couldn’t bear the thought of life without him. I still loved him.”
Incredibly, Leanne agreed to support Ian but, three weeks later, her world came crashing down. She says: “A woman called and said Ian was a conman who had the alias Andy Evans. She’d been seeing him and found my number on a phone bill. She said he didn’t have a job and had stolen from other women. I went into shock.”
Stunned Leanne researched Ian online and was horrified by what she discovered. She says: “I found an article that said Ian had stolen £3,500 from a woman called Carol Worswick in 2008 and had pleaded guilty to five counts of theft. I felt sick.”
It was then that Leanne checked her credit card bills. She says: “I’d been charged £5,000. There were dozens of withdrawals around the time of the holiday. It’d have been easy for Ian to have sneaked my credit card out of my bag and found the pin in paperwork. I was shaking and crying. To think I’d paid for his romantic gesture made my blood boil.”
Leanne went to the police, but was told they couldn’t take action as she’d left her pin unattended. She also discovered Ian had sent emails to other women.
'When I searched his name on Facebook, I gound a page warning women to beware of him'
She says: “I found messages in the deleted folder to four other women, arranging to meet up. I Facebooked one of them to warn her about Ian. He hadn’t stolen from her, but she was shocked. When I searched his name on Facebook, I found a page warning women to beware of him. Three women had joined and 23 people had commented. “One woman wrote: ‘He is so convincing and will make you believe he loves you!’ I felt sick – it was just what he’d done to me.”
“I talked to some of the women and we realised we’d all been given the same bracelet by Ian – black thread with diamantés. One told me her friends and family had met Ian and liked him. Another was devastated – she’d really loved him. He’d told her he was away working when he was on holiday with me. I just couldn’t believe it. I am not even sure if he really did have kids.”
Ian called from prison days later and Leanne wanted answers. She says: “I screamed at him. He said sorry and promised to pay me back, but I told him it was over.”
Leanne – who’s now paid off her credit card – adds: “I want to put it behind me, but I feel like such a fool and I hate telling friends he wasn’t perfect after all.
“I’m still angry. I really thought we were in love. I hope other women see my story so he can’t do it again. I’m doing my best to stay strong and move on.”
By Francine Anker & Paul Carter