Poole fraudster opens up on life as a criminal in new book
A ex-fraudster from Poole warns people away from a life of crime as he says, “karma will always get you”
An ex-fraudster, and now author, from Poole tells us the year he spent in a South African prison was ‘hell on earth’.
Garrie Henwood became a professional criminal in the 1980s and 90s, specialising in credit card fraud in which his victims were high-end shops and banks.
Eventually his crimes caught up with him and in 1999 Henwood was found with £1.3 million in cash.
He told us how he got caught: “A police car was chasing someone else and went into the side of us while we were heading back home to Johannesburg. It was such a freak incident but I believe it was karma.
“The moment I knew we’d been caught fear and dread came over me.
“I was the only white prisoner among the 1,500 in my dormitory and if you know South Africa’s history you can probably imagine it wasn’t a good time.”
Garrie’s autobiography, ‘Swiped, comes out April 12th and gives an “honest account” into a life of crime from the private jets and five-star hotels to a year behind bars.
The true crime thriller brings the reader into his mindset, first as a young man committing his first crime, then as part of a criminal gang targeting banks by swiping fake credit cards.
He said: “Back then I didn’t really care, all I wanted was money.
“It was all about buying the nicest things, getting the nicest clothes, staying in the nicest hotels and trying to get the prettiest women which when you’ve got a bonnet full of money always helps.
“I loved that lifestyle until it slapped me in the face. For 10 to 15 years, I was living a life or luxury but for 12 months it was hell on earth and it all came back to haunt me.
“I was driven by pure greed but it's made me grow and made me realise there’s more to life than money.”
Now a dad-of-three and an entrepreneur, Garrie warns potential fraudsters and criminals to avoid ‘the life of luxury’ he lived as “karma will always get you”.
‘Swiped’ is not just a chronicle of criminal exploits, it is a deep dive into the psyche of a young man whose choices shape his destiny and an exploration of how one wrong turn can set in motion a series of events that unravel the fabric of a seemingly idyllic life.