Adam Stark is a Convicted ‘cash for crash’ fraudster, who describes himself as a key worker helping the NHS on a page raising funds to give the home he claims to have bought with his fiancee a makeover.
He begged for cash to do up his new home has taken down his fundraising appeal – after it emerged he is a convicted fraudster.
Age
He is 31 years old.
Fraud
Shameless Adam Stark set up a GoFundMe profile asking for donations to makeover the property that he says he bought with fiancee Ali Jennings.
He says he met Ms. Jennings on dating app Tinder just before the UK’s first coronavirus lockdown, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports, and they took the plunge and bought a home together.
The appeal was slammed after his previous conviction came to light, and today he admitted his fundraising drive had been “cheeky”.
The couple moved into their home in Burton, Staffordshire, at the beginning of the year after purchasing the property at Christmas time.
Who is Vernell Cheneau? Wiki, Bio, Age, Shot A Man, Arrested, Investigation
But the page, listed by Adam Stark, doesn’t mention his role in a dangerous £500,000 “cash for crash” scam across Derbyshire back in 2017.
Jailed
Mr. Stark was sentenced to four years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Interview
Today, the 31-year-old – now a key worker delivering medical supplies to hospitals – told StaffordshireLive he had turned his life around.
He said: “I’d put the conviction behind me. I’ve made a mistake. I’m not proud of it, but now it’s in the past.
“I’m open about it and have nothing to hide. It happened when I fell in with a bad group of people.
“Now I’ve done my time and it’s behind me. If asked, I wouldn’t lie about it. It was a bad point in my life and it’s changed me and made me a better person.
“I’m now settled down and have a job helping people. It’s a new chapter in my life and my conviction’s no longer relevant to me.
“But it seems you just can’t seem to shake off things that have happened in the past and mistakes you’ve made.
“I’ve taken my punishment for it and everyone deserves a second chance in life.
“I’d now ask people to allow me to move on with my life.”
After a backlash that saw dozens of Facebook users slamming the GoFundMe page, Mr. Stark confirmed he had taken it down.
He said: “I accept that was a bit cheeky. Sometimes you can be a bit cheeky and sometimes you can’t.
“On this occasion, it didn’t work out. It’s been removed due to abuse that’s been received.
“The reaction’s been over the top. If it was this time last year, it would’ve been a different story.
“People were saying NHS workers deserve more than they get and there were fund-raising campaigns everywhere.
“I’m not saying I’m entitled and, granted, it was a bit cheeky asking.
“It was an idea suggested by a friend and I thought ‘why not?’. There have been a lot of fund-raisers for NHS workers, so why not give it a go myself and see if we can get some help?
“I regret setting up the appeal in hindsight. We weren’t expecting to be attacked over it. People have just thrown abuse around.”
