Megan Clarke was weeks away from one of the most important days of her life: her wedding to the man of her dreams.
After meeting her charming and wealthy aristocrat fiancé, Lord Bertie Underwood, in a bar in 2017, the couple fell in love and, just a few months into their relationship, decided to get married.
But after a series of red flags, Megan realized two months before the ceremony that her future husband was not who he said he was.
The 27-year-old discovered that Bertie Underwood did not exist and that they were just several aliases that her partner had used to deceive women like her.
He realized that Bertie’s real name was Robert Madejski, a serial fraudster who had a string of previous fraud convictions.
To make matters worse, Megan also discovered that Robert had racked up £30,000 in debt in her name after setting up numerous credit cards with her details – a sum he is still paying off.
Megan Clarke met her charming and wealthy aristocrat fiancé, Lord Bertie Underwood, in a bar in 2017.
Megan and Berties were in love and had been dating for almost a year when they decided to get married. Betie told her that once married, she would have the title of Lady.
But months later, Megan discovered his true identity as Robert Madejski (pictured) and came across a photo of his mugshot and news of his long history of fraud.
Megan met Robert when he stumbled upon a bar she worked at on the Isle of Wight in the summer of 2017.
Robert introduced himself as Lord Bertie Underwood, a wealthy aristocrat whose great-great-grandfather had invented the Underwood typewriter.
The pair immediately hit it off, and Robert even sent flowers to work, before asking her out on a date.
Robert took her to a fancy restaurant where they enjoyed a three-course meal and began talking to each other about their lives.
From then on, their relationship progressed rapidly, as Robert showered her with lavish gifts from Harrods, took her to London for lavish dates, and frequently drove her around in his Bentley.
After just a month of seeing each other, Megan moved into Robert’s three-storey house on the Isle of Wight seafront.
Then, on Christmas Day, Robert proposed with a Cartier diamond ring.
Having been swept up in a whirlwind romance, Megan agreed to marry him, even being told that once married, she would have the title of Dame.
But things soon began to fall apart as quickly as letters with other people’s names began to arrive at his door.
Serial fraudster Robert had racked up a £30,000 debt in Megan’s name after setting up numerous credit cards with her details – a sum she is still paying off.
Megan (pictured) moved into Robert’s three-storey house on the Isle of Wight seafront just a month into their relationship. He proposed to her on Christmas Day.
Robert initially told Megan that they were addressed to the previous tenants, but she didn’t believe it.
She told the Sun: ‘I asked Bertie and his attitude changed instantly. He shut it down pretty quickly and became very defensive and angry.
“That’s definitely when I started questioning everything.”
Megan began investigating and after searching her office, she found several cards that belonged to the same names as those on the letters.
Megan Googled each of the names, only to heartbreakingly discover that her future husband was not who he said he was.
Megan discovered his true identity as Robert Madejski and came across a photo of his mugshot and news of his long history of fraud.
It turned out that nothing Robert had told him was true: he was not the heir to a rich estate nor his job as a watchmaker.
Even the diamond engagement ring he gave her was fake.
She also realized that Robert had been taking out credit cards in her name, which had left her £30,000 in debt – a huge bill she is still paying.
Megan reported Robert to the police, but he fled.
Megan soon realized that Bertie’s real name was Robert Madejski (pictured), a serial fraudster who had a string of previous fraud convictions.
He also posted on Facebook, telling people about Robert’s criminal background and how he was able to scam here with numerous lies, in an attempt to raise awareness about the serial scammer in the hope that he will be caught.
But this again led to some more shocking truths.
People talked about their encounters with Robert and revealed that they had been seeing him during his relationship with Megan; Not only was he a serial scammer, but he was also a serial cheater.
Megan told Metro: ‘Every person he’s done this to and had sex with has been different.
“There is absolutely no pattern to type, gender or age, which makes me think there were never any real feelings involved.”
Robert was eventually caught by police and sentenced to five years in prison on unrelated fraud charges.
However, he escaped from prison in May 2022 and is still at large.
Megan recently revealed she has been avoiding police by moving between various addresses in London and Henley on Thames.
He added that he has posed as Viscount Norfolk and used the name Leopold Fitz-Allen Howard, while continuing to scam people out of thousands of pounds.
Sussex Police said in a statement: “We can confirm that police are still searching for Robert Madejski.” He has links to Hampshire, Kent and Essex, after previously absconding from HMP Ford.
‘He is also known to have alias surnames; Doughty, Underwood and Monzón.
‘Investigations are ongoing. Anyone who sees it should call 999 and quote serial 1378 of 11/05/2022.’
Robert (pictured) was eventually caught by police and sentenced to five years in jail on unrelated fraud charges.
Meanwhile, Megan has continued to pay her debt, after the Police Action Fraud team was unable to help her using money from her photography business.
Reflecting on her relationship with Robert, Megan said that while she remains “a very happy and positive person,” she is much more cautious about what people “are capable of.”
He admitted that he is still struggling to understand the “strange” experience and heartbreakingly wonders if he will ever be able to commit to getting married again.
She told Metro: “Maybe I’ll feel different if I ever fall in love again.” We will see what the future holds for us.”