Netflix true crime about ‘ultimate conman’ who stole nearly £1m from women drops next week

It’s from the producers of The Ripper and Don’t F*** With Cats


Next week, the true crime era is back – because Netflix is dropping an all-new series to get stuck into. It’s called The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman, and explores the story of a man who is now known as a conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people to go underground for fear of IRA assassination.

Netflix has described the case as a “jaw-dropping story of one of the world’s most audacious conmen”. There are three episodes in the true crime series, created by the same people behind The Ripper and Don’t F*** With Cats documentaries.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman, ahead of its release on Netflix.

New Netflix true crime documentary series The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman tells the story of Robert Hendy-Freegard

via Netflix

The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman is all about Robert Hendy-Freegard

The new true crime series look at how, over the course of a decade, Derbyshire-born Robert Freegard controlled, conned and fleeced at least seven women and one man, stealing close to a million pounds. His traumatised victims were led to believe they were accomplices in highly elaborate secret service operations and that their families were in grave danger if they did not obey. Freegard exploited, abused and controlled them with extreme cruelty, confident his victims were too paralysed by fear to escape. Now, in an incredible twist, the story reaches into the present day, with a family who fear for their mother’s safety.

At the height of his criminal career, Freegard was travelling from country to country, sometimes pretending to be a spy, and stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds. He would tell victims he was an MI5 agent, before telling them they were involved in IRA attacks, demand they went into hiding and give him their money. One of the victims, student John Atkinson, handed over more than £300,000.

New Netflix true crime documentary series The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman tells the story of Robert Hendy-Freegard

via Netflix

In the trailer for the series, we see one family destroyed by what Robert Hendy-Freegard has done, with one son saying since his mother become involved with Freegard she has disappeared and they haven’t seen her in over seven years. “There are other women out there who need to be saved,” the trailer says.

The synopsis reads: “A cruel con man masquerading as a British spy manipulates and steals from his victims, leaving ruined families in his wake.”

Watch the trailer for The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman here

The Puppet Master: Hunting The Ultimate Conman is available on Netflix from January 18th. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

Ranked: The best true crime documentaries on Netflix, according to Rotten Tomatoes

Right, we need to talk about all these plot holes in Stay Close on Netflix

Quiz: Only a real true crime expert can name all the people in these mugshots