21-04-2025
Millionaire fraudster Jay Cartmill sweating over criminal charges in Spain
Nolan swindler was even up to no good while on holiday – and now fears stint in a foreign jail
Millionaire conman Jay Cartmill is sweating over the possibility of being charged with criminal offences in Spain where he was living when he scammed multiple UK financial institutions.
The serial criminal, who has 159 convictions and counts TV presenters Stephen Nolan and Eamonn Holmes among his victims, is also desperate to be sentenced on these 63 new fraud offences before the winter so any jail term will run concurrently with the one he is already serving.
Jay Cartmill shakes Stephen Nolan's hand
Nicknamed 'King Con' by police, west Belfast-based Cartmill was sentenced to two years behind bars at Belfast Crown Court last week for stealing £1.3m from various bank accounts.
A source familiar with his case said: 'Jay wants to be sentenced on these new charges before Christmas so any jail time he gets will run concurrently with the two years he was given last week.
'That shows you his thinking — he's still scamming and working moves from his cell in Maghaberry. Jay has also told people he's worried he could be wanted for fraud in Spain and that's another reason why he wants these new charges dealt with quickly.'
A solicitor for Cartmill told Belfast Magistrates Court last Thursday that his client has confessed to 60 new charges relating to frauds committed between 2023 and 2024. He said: 'This is a multi-million-pound fraud, Mr Cartmill has made full admissions to all 63 offences. Police have all the information, we are hoping he would be sentenced for these matters prior to his release.'
Jay Cartmill on holiday at the Arctic Circle
Cartmill's latest scam involved contacting people on social media who had been complaining about their banks, pretending to be from the financial institution.
The 43-year-old then tricked them into handing over their account details, immediately transferring large sums from them to accounts operated by money mules who withdrew the cash for him.
Some of the frauds, totalling millions, were carried out by Cartmill while he was on holiday in Tenerife and on bail for the £1.3m thefts he was jailed for last week.
In February 2024 Cartmill had his bail conditions altered so he could go on a one-week holiday to the Canary Islands.
However, he ended up staying for two-and-a-half months and while there used free hotel wi-fi systems to commit multiple frauds.
A previous court hearing heard how Cartmill was 'investigated by the PSNI and Interpol for further offending of the same kind whilst he was out of the jurisdiction'. It is because of this that he is sweating over being charged with fraud in Spain.
Our source added: 'Jay can cope with being in Maghaberry (prison) alright, he's been in there before and knows a lot of the prisoners.
'Having to do time in a Spanish jail is a different matter, though, and he is really worried about that.'
Jay Cartmill sips a beer in Spain
Last week Sunday Life revealed how Cartmill has spent time recently working with the Turnaround Project charity to develop a guide entitled How Best to Safeguard Against Fraud.
The shameless thief wants to provide this to the banks he ripped off, copying the behaviour of Frank Abagnale, the infamous forger who inspired Oscar-winning movie Catch Me if You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and who ended up being employed by the FBI.
But this failed to impress Judge Crawford who sentenced him to two years in prison and remarked dryly about his previous empty promises of rehabilitation, saying: 'You have a history of making such assertions, only to offend again.'
In 2015 the fraudster went on the Nolan Show to apologise to presenter Stephen Nolan for stealing almost £30,000 from him.
He told bare-faced lies to the journalist while shaking his hand and saying: 'I did do wrong, I do apologise, (but) no matter what you've done in your past, if you really want to, you can turn your life around.'
