Shropshire conman held in Australia after 14 months on run
A big-spending broker from Shropshire who went on the run to avoid a jail term for swindling nearly £250,000 from investors has been arrested in Australia.
Conman Robert Taylor-Barefoot, from Shifnal, is in a Sydney jail awaiting deportation back to the UK after more than a year at large.
The 34-year-old, of Brockhurst, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for fraud at the Old Bailey in September last year.
But his passport was never seized by police and he skipped bail to spark a major manhunt by police.
Taylor-Barefoot, who played for Ludlow Cricket Club in 2009 and 2010, changed his name to Sam Jeffers and fled to Cairns, Queensland.
He set up a firm advising businesses on how to maximise their social media and marketing opportunities.
He told clients he had close working relationships with internet giants Google, Facebook and Twitter - and even claimed to be close friends with Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
But his double life was brought to an end when police stopped and breathalysed him after he was seen driving erratically in the early hours after a night out.
Officers searched his room and found his real passport under his bed, reports claimed.
City of London police today confirmed the arrest and said they hoped he would be brought back to the UK as soon as possible.
A police spokeswoman said: "The City of London Police is looking for Taylor-Barefoot to return to the UK so he can serve the sentence for the fraud offences for which he has been convicted in the courts."
Taylor-Barefoot, whose estranged wife Serena still lives in Ludlow and whose parents also still live in the county, featured on BBC show Crimewatch's Most Wanted in December.
