Timothy Barnes was not targeting strangers when he set about swindling people out of nearly £2m – these were his friends and neighbours. Those who knew him best, or so they thought.
Barnes was after all a financial adviser, living among them in the close-knit Warwickshire village – someone they all trusted.
Known as Paul, he was a familiar and respected face. But behind that reputation, he started borrowing money under false pretences from those very people, even including a criminal lawyer.
And he accrued the huge amounts in just six months, by conning a total of 36 people.
For Carolyne Ryan-Bell it was truly personal. She has known Barnes for about 25 years – their families have spent Christmases together, gone on skiing holidays and regularly met for evening meals. Their families’ friendship was part of everyday life.
So when Barnes asked to borrow £40,000 from her, claiming he urgently needed to pay an inheritance tax bill following his mother’s death and promising the money would be repaid within days, she believed him.
The 57-year-old professional horse trainer, who lived doors away from Barnes in Abbots Morton, said that at that point, in in December 2022, she said she “had no reason not to trust him”.