A London weekly is on the trail of an alleged fraudster known as the ‘biscuit tin conman’ who posed as a newspaper publisher.

The scammer, who uses the name of Mark Dagnell, got clients to advertise in a non-existent title called the South East Advertiser before disappearing with their money.

Dagnell, described as looking like “a cross between Danny DeVito and Russell Grant,” is alleged to have conned an Essex wrought iron company out of £2,000 by perusading them to take out an advert in the fake ‘newspaper.’

However he is having trouble hooking new customers after his activities were exposed by the Barking and Dagenham Post.

The conman got his nickname from his modus operandi of carrying a biscuit tin under his arm to lull would-be customers into a false sense of security.

A spokeswoman for Essex Wrought Iron, which says it lost £2,070 on a fake ad, said: “When he walks into a meeting he says ‘I’ve got the biscuits; you get the tea’ in a jokey way.”

Since the Post’s expose, several other businesses around the region have called the Archant-owned paper to say they have been contacted by him

TA Baker, a company that installs satellites and TV aerials based in Peterborough, say a man from the South East Advertiser rang them on 9 September.

They became suspicious after he kept changing the quotes for advertising space and googled the name of the newspaper – but found the Post’s story instead.

And a musician who spent £500 on adverts for his jazz band says he was ripped off after being fooled by Mr Dagnell’s friendly manner.

Essex Wrought Iron’s spokeswoman said: “I want to warn other businesses to be careful. He is quite short and stout and looks like a cross between Danny Devito and Russell Grant.”

Police have been informed about Mr Dagnell and an investigation is currently under way by trading standards.

Comments

Mr_Osato (01/10/2009 13:04:51)
Searching for him? I bet they are – getting two grand for an advert in this market? Give that man a job!

Ryan M (01/10/2009 15:07:36)
I agree with Mr_Osato, this man should be advertising manager for every newspaper, think of the yield!

Hengist Pod (05/10/2009 16:37:31)
Can he please come and work at Trinity Mirror? It might stop them sacking people to save cash.