The fraudster is thought to be a man who has been in and out of prison for pub-related crimes in recent years.
He tells licensees he works for a legitimate business called Bernie Carroll Publications, creating a booklet of pubs, and asks for payment to be featured. Yet the book is never produced.
The man is currently on bail for misrepresentation, but Bernie Carroll, owner of Bernie Carroll Publications, said this hasn’t stopped the fraudster targeting pubs.
Scam
Carroll’s business publishes postcards and posters featuring pubs. The con artist arrives in venues under the ruse he works for Carroll, and asks for cash payments for adverts and orders, usually between £70 and £150.
“He’s proficient, the most skilled conman I’ve ever heard of. He’s been in prison two or three times to the best of my knowledge,” Carroll said. “I think the number of people he’s conned probably goes into the thousands now.”
Carroll has received calls from pubs in Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire and north Wales, demanding their products after visits from the con artist.
Reputation
“He uses my company name, which is even more incredible. The smear on my reputation is enormous,” he said. “The booklet doesn’t actually exist, he makes it up as he goes along. It never materialises. It’s a really old scam, people have been doing this for years.
“He’s got good form, he’s well and truly known to the police and has been prosecuted, but he’s still at it. The joke is that pub landlords still fall for the scam, but it really is getting beyond a joke.”
Carroll said his business has been badly hit due to the scam.
“Nobody will ring the police, that’s the peculiarity. It seems people who run pubs don’t like calling the police. Perhaps they’re embarrassed, or it’s because it’s a small sum. But when you add it all up it’s a lot of money,” he said.