Overview
- McVeigh admitted defrauding 17 women of £81,872 and raping two victims across 2023–2024, according to court proceedings.
- He used images and the name of East Yorkshire father Gary Stephenson to create fake personas on dating platforms, prompting Stephenson to be contacted by numerous women.
- One mother says she lost £800, was pressured to send intimate images, and ultimately identified the real man in the photos through a Facebook group and reverse‑image searches before alerting police.
- Crown officials acknowledged a mistake that led to McVeigh’s release in late 2023, with references to bail expected to be removed at sentencing.
- Investigators and victims report McVeigh employed aliases including Reece Fletcher and Paul Justin on Tinder and Bumble, with a judge describing the scale of his deception and abuse as staggering.