A 32-year-old international fraudster whose schemes stretched from New Zealand to Europe and Southeast Asia has been sentenced to prison in Christchurch after a spree of elaborate hotel scams and identity deceptions. The man, who has been known by multiple aliases including Joshua Yarwood and Joshua Martyn, was sentenced to one year and three months in the Christchurch District Court after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining by deception and an additional computer-related charge.
Authorities say his cons were not confined to New Zealand. Police have linked him to similar schemes in Greece, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Cambodia, where he left behind unpaid hotel bills, unpaid wages, and fabricated identities.
Final Call: Be DPDP Act Ready with FCRF’s Certified Data Protection Officer Program
A Pattern of Deception?
Police said they were first alerted on June 17 when a Christchurch hotel reported that the guest had vanished without settling a two-week bill. Hotel staff, upon warning other establishments, discovered a pattern stretching back to May 5. In total, he amassed $15,290.61 (Rs. 13 Lakhs) in unpaid debts across four hotels in Christchurch alone.
Detective Sergeant Michael Freeman said investigators soon realized the man’s scams extended internationally. In several cases, he posed as a United Nations official purportedly arranging aid linked to the war in Ukraine. He also impersonated a paramedic in the United Kingdom, even going so far as to construct a makeshift ambulance vehicle to bolster his deception.
Beyond financial fraud, authorities revealed disturbing elements of manipulation, including orchestrating a campaign to convince a woman she was being stalked, while he himself was behind the threats. In Cambodia, he allegedly failed to pay thousands in wages owed to an employee.
Echoes of Infamous Cons
Police compared the man’s escapades to those of Frank Abagnale, the notorious American con artist whose life inspired the film Catch Me If You Can. “This movie-like scenario doesn’t happen often,” Freeman said, noting the unusual nature of the case. “It is satisfying to see this offender finally held accountable.”
Immigration New Zealand and Interpol have now joined the investigation as authorities seek to untangle the full extent of his global trail. His prior convictions in the UK for theft, fraud, and impersonation underscore a history of deception that has spanned years and continents.
For Christchurch authorities, the arrest marked the conclusion of a case that blended crime, impersonation, and performance in ways that seemed pulled from fiction rather than reality.