Robert Hendy-Freegard, the British con artist who is the subject of a recent feature film and Netflix documentary and is being investigated for attempted murder after ramming several French police officers last week, was arrested in Belgium.
He was stopped by Belgian traffic police about 30 minutes south of Ghent after his car was spotted by automatic number plate recognition cameras. He was in the same car as when he hit the police.
He is due to appear before a Belgian judge today (3 September) with a view to being sent back to France.
Refusal to comply in the Creuse: the scammer Robert Hendy-Freegard arrested in Belgium pic.twitter.com/ovyV3MHHsj
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) September 3, 2022
Hendy-Freegard, 51, is a notorious fraudster who runs elaborate scams to trick victims into giving him money.
He was sentenced to life in prison in the UK in 2005 for kidnapping and fraud, after being accused of extorting £1million from his victims and being dubbed ‘The Puppet Master’ by Scotland Yard.
However, he was released in 2009 after the sentence was reduced on appeal.
Last week, French police went to a house in the small village of Vidaillat (Creuse) to investigate a dog farm run by a woman associated with Hendy-Freegard, Sandra Clifton.
Ms Clifton’s decision to leave her family and run away with Hendy-Freegard is a key theme in the Netflix documentary The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman. Hendy-Freegard usually uses psychological manipulation to trick her victims, and that’s believed to be what happened to Ms Clifton.
Hendy-Freegard arrived at the property soon after and, when questioned by police, rushed over, striking three officers and leaving them seriously injured, including a broken leg and facial injuries.
During a search of the property, officers later found new phones with prepaid cards.
An investigation was opened by the Guéret prosecutor’s office for “attempted intentional homicide on a person holding public authority” and entrusted to the investigation unit of the Limoges judicial court (Haute-Vienne).
Martine Laporte, the mayor of Vidaillait, told The Connexion on August 30 that the dogs are now in the care of an animal welfare organization and she “doesn’t know” where Ms Clifton is.
She said she had been trying to sound the alarm about Hendy-Freegard’s dog breeding and suspicious activities there for years.
Read more: The French mayor sounded the alarm over British ‘Puppetmaster’ scammer in 2018
A film based on the Hendy-Freegard scams, titled Rogue Agent, was released this year.
Michael Bronner, who co-wrote the film and has been following the Hendy-Freegard case for more than 15 years, told The Connection he thinks the investigation into the attempted murder of a police officer will be the downfall. of the crook.
“The fraud is complicated and difficult to prove, this dog breeding business seems to be fraudulent but it is a more difficult case to bear than the attempted murder of a police officer, of which there were many witnesses”, did he declare.
“It looks like he’s pretty screwed up.”
Mr Bronner described Hendy-Freegard as an “expert trickster”.
“He was able to be patient and really see even the smallest vulnerability. [in his victims] and open it slowly and skillfully,” he said.
“The FBI agent who was involved in her initial capture…I spoke to him quite a bit and he was a very experienced senior agent. She told me he was the most naturally gifted con man she has ever met.
Our full interview with Michael Bronner will be published shortly.
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