A man who has been remanded in custody in London after making threats to kill Prince Harry is a well-known con artist from Northern Ireland, local media reported.
Mark Townley, 30, appeared in Uxbridge Magistrates Court in England on May 25 after turning himself in to police for making threats to kill the third-in-line to the throne the day after the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, The Belfast Telegraph reported.
Following the threat, security was tightened up around Prince Harry after Scotland Yard found Townleyâ„¢s laptop contained a history of having visited firearms and terrorist websites.
Townley, who has a long history as a conman, was remanded in custody after pleading guilty to the charges.
The Co Down man has also been known as Mark Hamill and Antonio Mendez and is now using the name Ashraf Islam following a decision to become a Muslim when he fled Northern Ireland over his latest scam.
Townley, using the name Antonio Mendez, was first convicted of fraud in Liverpool when he advertised bodyguard courses with the guarantee of security work in Iraq. Dozens of former soldiers paid a £250 registration fee, but when they turned up at an isolated Welsh beach they found there was no course and no sign of Townley.
He returned to Northern Ireland and set up a firm called National Task Force and proceeded to rip off youth, gymnastic and boxing clubs of thousands with the promise of mini buses and equipment. As his cheques bounced he fled to Dublin.
Once there he set up shop selling topless photographs to newspapers which quickly evolved into a Ëœmodel agencyâ„¢, but he fled north again after being threatened by creditors. He then set up office on the Dublin Road in Belfast offering courses in photography. Twenty six people signed up to ËœMark Hamillâ„¢ paying £150 each. When the people turned up on a Monday he was nowhere to be seen.
MOL/HE
This article originally appeared on: Press TV