A British fraudster has been jailed for swindling more than a million pounds of paintings out of the world famous Christie's auction house.

Robert Hyams used fake letters of credit (L/Cs) to persuade auctioneers that he was creditworthy enough to afford to buy paintings by some renowned artists.

No guarantee

Hyams presented himself to auctioneers as a millionaire microbiologist, claiming breakthroughs in the fields of Aids and cancer.

As part of his preparations to bid for six masterpieces at the auction house, he produced fake L/Cs, apparently guaranteeing that he would be able to pay for any lots he successfully bid for.

Fraud spree

Hyams, who has also tricked a string of banks, property agents and car companies out of fortunes, was initially arrested in 2002 but was released on bail.

The serial conman then fled to the United States where he continued his fraud spree committing another 81 offences between early 2004 and late 2005.

Jail term

Christie's lost around £150,000 in the scam and had to re-auction most of the works to recoup its losses and salvage its reputation.

Hyams pleaded guilty to six counts of attempting to obtain property by deception and three related offences at a London court. He was sentenced to serve five years in jail.

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