Man who posed as NHS staff to con 92-year-old with fake Covid jab jailed

Judge describes David Chambers plot to charge pensioner £140 for fake jab ‘dispicable’

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A man who posed as an NHS worker to swindle money from a 92-year-old woman during the Covid pandemic has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

David Chambers, 33, pretended to be a healthcare worker going door-to-door administering the vaccine last December, as the jab was first being rolled out to the elderly and vulnerable.

Having recently been contacted by her GP, Kathleen Martin invited Chambers into her home in Surbiton, south west London, believing he had been sent by her doctor.

Chambers, who had been wearing an NHS lanyard, asked her to roll up her sleeve and pretended to vaccinate her by pressing something she described as a “dart-like implement” against the back of her wrist.

It did not break her skin nor inject anything.

Chambers charged his victim £140, returning days later in the new year to demand another £100 of her, which she refused to pay.

He appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation, and battery at a previous hearing.

Judge Hannah Kinch described his actions as “despicable” and said there was no doubt they caused “significant anxiety and distress” to other elderly people at the time who were worried they would fall victim to a scam.

She said: “Your actions were cruelly calculated to trick the victim into thinking she had been properly vaccinated so as to be able to obtain payment from her.”

Chambers was also given a seven-year criminal behaviour order to stop him targeting elderly victims in their homes.

The court heard he was previously jailed for 18 months for burgling an elderly woman after telling her he needed to check her boiler and radiators.

He has also received a suspended sentence, which was later activated, for defrauding two elderly victims by claiming he needed to borrow money for a locksmith after getting locked out of his home.

Judge Kinch said: “Your previous convictions show a propensity to deliberately target vulnerable elderly victims in their home, a place where they should feel safe and secure.

“You took full advantage of the vaccination rollout to prey on another vulnerable victim in her own home.”

The prosecution argued Chambers’ undermined confidence in the Covid vaccine rollout, having acted amidst rising cases and ahead of the second peak of the pandemic.

Martin, who has lived in the area for her whole life, said she had “never been subject to such a deceitful and horrific crime”.

Admitting it was taken a difficult few months to come to terms with the scam, she warned others against falling victim to similar cons.

In a statement, she said: “Knowing first hand someone would use the Covid-19 vaccination process to scam money from the elderly is harrowing.

“It is important people are aware of these scams and always check the validity of what people say when they contact you by phone, or knock on your door.

“These scams are on the rise and they specifically target the elderly. This person posed as an NHS employee with a fake lanyard, and gained access to my home.”