Con man Wayne Iglesom caught claiming to be rich nobleman in Spain

One of the country’s most notorious con artists has been caught in Spain posing as a wealthy aristocrat working for a global investment giant.

Wayne Eaglesome, who has used dozens of aliases over the years, was jailed in 2018 for managing a company and making false statements while prohibited. He is also a convicted sex offender. He fled the country more than two years ago.

His aliases include Georges von Rothschild, Father Anthony Garibaldi, Dr. Angus Harrow, Alex Newman, Bernhard Bentinck, Alex Berg Root, Bernhard Augustus Longwater, Barnaby Gordon, Richard Mountjoy, Alex Ball and Ali Ben Yitzhak.

The scammer claims to be the Harvard grad and multimillionaire who owns a superyacht, a close friend of the Saudi prince, a World Bank tax analyst, a longtime member of the New York State Bar and the grandson of the top surgeon who rescued Fidel Kass The life of Trow’s wife.

After his release from prison in October 2020, he faced new charges for breaching the conditions of his release. However, he failed to appear in court and told his lawyers that he was in Laos, Southeast Asia.

this Herald The legendary scammer was recently approached by a group of tourists in Barcelona, ​​Spain, who were staying in a hotel while allegedly offering men large sums of money for sex.this Herald Sent several photos of Eaglesome at the hotel.

An Irish tourist, who did not want to be named, said he was hanging out with friends near the hotel pool on August 23 when a man joined them and “had a friendly conversation”.

The man introduced himself as Alex and said he was from London but lived in Germany.

“Hotels are full of solo travelers, so it’s common for people to have friendly conversations and ask questions,” the visitor said.

“What sets Alex apart, however, is his distinctively sassy British accent and his unmistakable whiff of wealth.”

The tourist said the group was “interested” in Alex’s demeanor and began asking about his background and career.

He said he bought an exclusive pair of Jordan 1 Retro High Dior shoes in Barcelona, ​​which he said he paid 16,000 euros ($29,000) for, as well as an unreleased Louis Vuitton X Nike Dunk campaign for 8,000 euros The prototype of the shoe.

Alex also claimed he held a “senior position” at BlackRock.

“He told stories of BlackRock employees receiving free iPhones every six months, taking 90 annual vacation days and spending a large portion of their work budget on entertainment abroad.

“He emphasized that he had not paid for personal travel in over two decades because no matter where he traveled, he could claim his expenses as business-related expenses.”

He bought drinks for the group and allegedly told stories of wealthy men paying sexual favors to heterosexual men.

“Alex also raised hypothetical questions about accepting money to engage in homosexual behavior, which elicited a response from us.”

Over time, Alex started telling everyone that he owned hostels around the world, including Ireland, Bangkok and Phuket, all of which catered to backpackers.

Tourists ask him why he lives in a hotel given his apparent wealth.

“He expressed a genuine interest in connecting with other travelers and hearing their stories.”

He boasted of his alleged friendship with the Crown, and mentioned his father’s title of Earl of Mount Edgecombe, which had been bestowed upon his grandfather for his service to the King.

He also showed them about bitcoin, suggesting they invest in it and they would be “rich in 30 days,” the tourist said.

Eaglesome also claimed a salary of £900,000 ($1.9 million) and £1.9 million in stock.

The day ended with a poolside party hosted by the entire hotel, which Alex paid for. The waiter told the guest that Alex spent about 4,000 euros in two days.

Eventually, the guests started to get suspicious.

“We discussed our experience with other hotel guests and pondered our strange encounter with this seemingly wealthy man. While we weren’t sure at first, evidence is mounting that Alex may be a bitcoiner A very wealthy man who traded, although his career may have been fabricated.”

Another tourist staying at the hotel, Emily Pennington from Melbourne, Australia, said Alex told the group he had a yacht and he had to sail from Barcelona to Mallorca , and began offering seats on the yacht to the group.

“He said there were 10 places, but he only wanted men there, and only wanted ‘vagina’ to please men.”

Pennington agreed to board the yacht, as did a number of others.

She said Alex told her he had offered £250,000 to a man staying at the hotel to have sex with him and was awaiting his reply.

“But if he didn’t (agree), he’d look at other people in the group and start pointing them out to me.”

Pennington said Alex appeared “very charismatic and confident”.

“(He) provided so many drinks that it created a great party atmosphere in the group.”

When Alex mentions that he was at the Tomorrowland Music Festival, the game is over. Pennington recalls a friend telling her about meeting a “stylish British hustler” at the festival.

“My stomach collapsed,” she recalls.

She called her friend to ask for the crook’s name.

“He said his name was Wayne Eaglesome, and then we took out the article about who he was and started spreading the word in the pool.

“I literally put my phone around the pool in front of Wayne for people to read articles about him being a sex offender in front of him.”

Alex, not knowing what the tourists were reading, went to dinner with the group. However, almost everyone now knows his background.

During dinner, an argument broke out between the two men and Alex after it became clear that Alex was lying about offering to pay for a flight back to Zurich for the group.

During the altercation, one of the men questioned his conviction and Alex walked away.

The tourist from Ireland said Alex “blushed with embarrassment” before returning to his room.

“He disappeared from the hotel and we never saw him again. The receptionist confirmed his departure, ending our confusing encounter.”

Pennington said the hotel called the police, who said there was nothing they could do because he faced no charges in Spain.

this Herald Alex sent him a series of questions from the number he used to message some fellow tourists on WhatsApp. He didn’t respond, though, and his profile picture changed from a strikingly similar Eaglesome photo to an animated one.

“Engaged Fraud”

Wearing a priest’s robe and carrying stolen credit cards, Iglesom was stopped in a taxi near Kaikoura in 2003.

In 2006, he was jailed for five years for sexually assaulting and molesting an 18-year-old backpacker and molesting another teenager.

Shortly before his final sentence, Iglesom attempted to change his name to Barnaby Gordon.

Christchurch District Court Judge Tom Gilbert said the constant name changes helped him continue to offend over the years.

Eaglesom (then known as Alex Bergen) tried to withhold his name, but was rebuffed.

“Mr Bergen, you are a die-hard liar,” Judge Gilbert said, adding he “lived the life of a liar”.

His observations mirror previous parole reports that have detailed him as a narcissist and a “prolific high-risk assertive individual.”

Eaglesom also claimed he had changed his name to Ball again, but was unable to provide any evidence.

He also claimed he had renounced his New Zealand citizenship, but the court was unable to substantiate this claim.

“The difficulty with you, Mr Bergen, is that people don’t know when you’re telling the truth and when you’re not,” Judge Gilbert said.

“You made such assertions about me in the past just to mislead me to your own ends.”

Eaglesom challenged the decision in the High Court.

He later dropped his plea to remain anonymous but sought to have his sentence reversed. He didn’t succeed.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter covering crime.He is a senior journalist who has joined Herald In 2022, I will work as a reporter for 10 years.