A heartless fraudster conned cash from hundreds of people by claiming he was doing parachute jumps for charity.

Mark Maskell, 25, knocked on doors asking for sponsorship. He said the jump would raise money for a homeless charity – but it has not received a penny.

Now Maskell has been jailed for the FOURTH time for the same scam.

  • In 2006 he admitted conning 32 people and was jailed for four months
  • In 2007 he was locked up for four months for the same offence
  • And in 2008 he was jailed for 16 months after he conned his way into a house saying he was doing a charity parachute jump – and then burgled it.

Now magistrates in Stockport have given him another four-month jail term after he targeted a house in Heaton Chapel with the same story. It is understood there may have been hundreds more victims over the years.

Maskell used sponsorship forms that falsely claimed to be raising cash for Wellspring, a real homeless charity.

It is understood that he used the cash to fund his heroin habit.

Who else has been locked up in  February? Sentences and photo gallery

Jonathan Billings, manager at the Wellspring said: “It’s really bad for us because the charity’s in a tricky positionat the moment. Our running costs are really high and we have just moved into a new building.

“We have basically got no money at all so the last thing we need is people ripping us off.”

He added: “We have known about him the last four or five years.

“He mainly knocks on people’s doors, approaching people in the street and asking shops and businesses.

“I’d like the public to be aware and if anyone has given to a young man claiming to have done a parachute jump to contact the police.

“The Wellspring never collects cash in the street and we never go door to door.

“ If you have given money in the street then you have been ripped off.

“We do do sponsored events but it’s all done through secure donations via our website.”

Noel Smethurst, 76, believes he was ripped off by Maskell. The fraudster knocked on the door of Mr Smethurst’s home in Bramhall just before Christmas and said he was doing a parachute jump for a local homeless charity with three other people.

Earnest

Mr Smethurst said: “He was quite an earnest young chap. He’d obviously got it off pat but he seemed to be genuine.

“He asked if I would support them and I agreed.

“I thought I probably wouldn’t hear anything more about it. He didn’t say which charity he was from.”

Mr Smethurst said he told Maskell he would give him £5 after the jump, but when Maskell reappeared after Christmas, he expected £5 for each of the people who had done the jump.

So Mr Smethurst handed over £20 - but four weeks later, Maskell was back.

“He said they had been able to do another two jumps because it was good weather.

“It took me back a bit. He said it would be in the paper and I would be able to read all about it.

“He said he had made £7,000 in sponsorship."

So Mr Smethurst handed over another £10 - but when Maskell returned a week later, for the fourth time, he said no.

Mr Smethurst said: “I thought this had got to be a con, and reported it. I feel that I've been taken advantage of.”

Who else has been locked up in  February? Sentences and photo gallery