Financier, 62, conned leading anti-apartheid activist who became Commonwealth diplomat out of £1.1m by pretending that he would invest it in property, court hears
- Maurice Miskelly allegedly swindled the fortune from activist Patsy Robertson
- Ms Robertson held top roles for the Commonwealth between 1983 and 1994
- She was Director of Information for the Secretariat and an official spokesperson
- Ms Robertson, described as ‘charming and eloquent’, died in August, aged 86
- Miskelly, 62, of West Yorks, faces two counts of fraud by false representation
A financier conned a leading anti-apartheid activist and Commonwealth diplomat out of £1.1million by pretending he would invest the money in property, a court has heard.
Maurice Miskelly, 62, allegedly swindled the fortune from Jamaican activist Patsy Robertson.
Ms Robertson served as Director of Information for the Commonwealth Secretariat and Official Spokesperson for the Commonwealth between 1983 and 1994.
Described as ‘charming and eloquent’, she died from heart failure, aged 86, in August last year.
According to the charges, Miskelly duped the ambassador into handing over the money by pretending he would invest it on her behalf in ‘property schemes’ between August 2014 and September 2014.
He is also accused of defrauding her daughter, Sarah Robertson, a literary translator, out of £218,000 between December 2014 and March 2016.
Maurice Miskelly, 62, allegedly swindled the fortune from Jamaican activist Patsy Robertson (pictured), who died from heart failure, aged 86, in August last year.
Born in Jamaica in 1933, Ms Robertson was a prominent voice for freedom fighters in South Africa.
She studied at New York University in the US, where she was shocked by the ‘horrendous inequality and racism’ in the country.
She hosted meetings between anti-apartheid leaders at her stately home in Ebury Street, Belgravia, throughout the 1960s.
In 1964 she married Old Etonian Calum Robertson, with whom she had three children and embraced a coterie of celebrity friends.
Among those in her circle were African-American novelist James Baldwin and Sir Shridath ‘Sonny’ Ramphal, the Commonwealth secretary general.
An obituary in The Times newspaper, written in September last year, described the campaigner, who was the Commonwealth’s spokeswoman for more than three decades, as ‘charming, eloquent, regal in bearing and subtly subversive’.
Miskelly, who appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court (pictured) via videolink today, is said to have made false representations to Ms Robertson that he was a ‘financial asset manager’
Miskelly, who appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink today, is said to have made false representations to Ms Robertson that he was a ‘financial asset manager’.
He claimed he would ‘invest her money in property schemes with a return on investment of 8%’ intending to make a gain for himself, the court heard.
Miskelly, of Bluebell Close, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, is charged with two counts of fraud by false representation.
He was bailed ahead of a plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court on February 16.