George Lavery, aged 42, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay £5,500 in compensation. John Hamilton,was sentenced to 2 and a half

George Lavery, aged 42, from Clapham Common in London was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay £5,500 in compensation. John Hamilton, aged 51, from St Leonards in Sussex was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison and ordered to pay £4,500 in compensation. Neither of them were present at the sentencing so warrants have been issued to trace them.Lavery, formerly of High Street in Berkhamsted at the time of the offence, works as a psychic medium and had been contacted by the victim, who wanted to contact a girlfriend after their relationship had broken down. Lavery, also known as Simon Lavery, told the victim that he could help him rebuild
the relationship.Lavery and Hamilton then contacted the victim pretending to be the ex girlfriend via a mobile phone the victim had bought for them. They persuaded him to part with thousands of pounds of money under the pretext of a wedding between the man and his ex girlfriend. This included an engagement ring.The victim, a man from Watford, eventually realised that he had been defrauded when he saw the mobile phone he had bought at Lavery's house. He then contacted the ex girlfriend on her usual mobile number, but she knew nothing of the wedding. The offence took place between October 1 2007 and 2 June 2008.Lavery and Hamilton were found guilty in their absence today after originally pleading not guilty in September 2008 to fraud by false representation.Detective Constable Phil Freebrey, the officer in the case, said: "These are robust and positive sentences for a cruel and callous crime against a man who was at a vulnerable time in his life."It is unusual for offenders to be sentenced in their absence. We would strongly urge anyone who has seen either of these men to get in touch so they can now serve their sentences and pay the compensation."It is possible they could be in the London or Sussex areas where they come from, Gibraltar where Lavery was due to hold an event on June 9, the Costa del Sol where there was an event on June 11."I am also keen to hear from anyone else who thinks they may have been defrauded by these two individuals. We would ask them to get in touch so we can investigate."