Dani Dyer’s boyfriend Sammy Kimmence jailed for scamming pensioners out of almost £34,000
The boyfriend of Love Island star Dani Dyer has been jailed for 42 months after he pleaded guilty to defrauding two men out of almost £34,000.
Sammy Kimmence, from Rayleigh in Essex, took cash from two elderly men between 2016 and 2018, telling them he would invest it in horse racing bets on their behalf – but he instead spent the money on clearing his debts and funding his lifestyle.
Kimmence, 25, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud against Peter Martin, of Havant, Hampshire, who died last year at the age of 91, and totalled nearly £26,000.
Kimmence has a son with Love Island star Dani Dyer
He also pleaded guilty to a fifth charge against Peter Haynes, 81, from Okehampton in Devon, which came to £7,927.
Sentencing the defendant at Portsmouth Crown Court, Judge Timothy Mousley QC said the scam had been an “abuse of trust”, particularly against Mr Martin, who had considered Kimmence to be his friend.
He added: “You didn’t show any remorse immediately and I do not consider any remorse to be profound.”
Kimmence came into contact with the two men while working in administration and sales for a company called Equine Global Sports Limited, which placed bets on behalf of its clients, prosecutor Michael Mason said.
However, the company ceased trading, and Kimmence pretended to work for a new company, S&S Trading Ltd, and continued to offer to make bets on behalf of the two men.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) say that instead of placing bets, Kimmence used the cash to pay off his overdraft, stay in an Ibiza hotel, eat out at restaurants and buy clothes.
Mr Mason said: “This is a very unpleasant fraud against two men who Mr Kimmence deliberately targeted.
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“He targeted them because they were old, vulnerable and somewhat isolated. This wasn’t something he migrated to, this was something he planned.”
In a statement read to court, Mr Haynes, an aircraft engineer and RAF veteran, said: “All the savings I have accrued over my working life have been wiped out, my bank account shows zero, I am sick with worry.”
Kimmence had visited both lots of his victims and persuaded Mr Martin to hand over online banking details and bank cards, Mr Mason added.
He said, speaking of Mr Martin: “He ceded financial control to Mr Kimmence, it’s akin to the fox getting the keys to the chicken pen.”
A statement made by Mr Martin said: “I have been left at times very stressed over money, having given thousands to Sammy who I thought was investing it for me.”
Craig Harris, defending Kimmence, said: “He was living above his means, he found himself surrounded by what he perceived to be the glitz and glamour of the City and financial services workers and they would take him out to Club 195, nightclubs, and well-regarded bar establishments.
“And when the time came for him to show willingness to engage in this type of frivolity, he did.”
The court also heard that Kimmence would indulge in alcohol and cocaine.
Because of legal proceedings against him, Kimmence had lost his job as a City trader, according to Mr Harris, and was intending to retrain as a quantity surveyor.
Mr Harris added that Kimmence had saved up £10,000 to repay his victims.
Simon Clark, CPS Wessex senior crown prosecutor, said: “Kimmence acted despicably when he duped his former clients into believing that he had set up a new company with which they could safely invest their money.”
Kimmence is the father of Dyer’s child, Santiago, who was born on 23 January this year.
They’re getting through 70kg of rice a day and the wholesaler has run out of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London on Wednesday.
It’s just the second time a Grand Tournament has been held outside of Japan – and this is a sport that has records going back more than 1,500 years.
It’s 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the only previous such event on foreign soil – and the appetite for tickets meant all five days sold out immediately.
Much of the focus is on the two grand champions or yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.
They’re the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, plus Japan’s Onosato Daiki – who this year became the quickest wrestler to achieve the rank in the modern era.
“I’m happy that Sumo is back after so many years,” Onosato said. “I hope I can show the UK fans how fantastic Sumo is.”
“Being a yokozuna has a lot of responsibility,” Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. “We have to show everyone an example of what a yokozuna is – and that’s very difficult.
“My uncle was a yokozuna – and I’m happy to follow in his footsteps. But I came here to London as a yokozuna which he didn’t, so I’m even happier.”
The two are already great rivals.
Onosato Daiki became the quickest ever to achieve yokozuna rank. Pic: AP
At the recent Aki Basho – the most prestigious tournament on the sumo calendar – the pair finished with identical records after 15 days of bouts.
It all came down to a final play-off between the two yokozuna – the first time that had happened in 16 years. It was Onosato who came out on top on that occasion.
Hoshoryu says he is a big fan of basketball and football. He follows Chelsea, although his favourite players are going back a bit: “Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He’s the ‘keeper. I like this guy!”
Early starts and a hearty stew: The life of a rikishi
The wrestlers – or rikishi – have a rigorous training regime.
They live in communal blocks called stables and practice starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After training and practice – and for the younger rikishi, chores – the wrestlers all eat together.
The staple of their diet is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with meat and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who have come over for the five-day tournament is a challenge in itself.
Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: “We are going through 70 kilos of rice a day. Somebody told me that the wholesaler for the noodles has run out of noodles. We’re really pushing the system here.”
The ring – or dohyo – is just 4.55m in diameter and quite small when two giant wrestlers leap at each other.
The aim of the fights is to either get your opponent onto the floor – or, more spectacularly, shove or hurl them out of the dohyo, so spectators in the ringside seats may be getting extremely up-close to the wrestlers.
The last time the tournament was in Britain, the massive Konishiki, known as the Dump Truck, took centre stage.
The giant Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming in at 287kg – or 45 stone. That’s a lot of wrestler to dodge if he comes falling out of the ring towards you.
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The Royal Albert Hall may be firstly a concert venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and even Muhammad Ali.
And for the next five days, the cream of the world of sumo will be thrilling the crowds – provided a new noodle supplier is found.
What is a yokozuna?
Yokozuna is the highest rank in sumo, with its name meaning “horizontal rope” and refers to the rope worn around a competitor’s waist as they enter the ring.
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