A conman posed as a footman for the late Queen Elizabeth in order to flog a walking stick he claimed was hers, after he listed an “antler walking stick” on eBay just days after her death in September 2022.
Dru Marshall pretended to be a senior footman and subsequently started a fierce bidding war for the stick, with the price reaching £540 before he cancelled the listing after learning the police were onto him.
Although he has avoided a prison sentence, Marshall was given a 12-month community order and will have to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £114 and £500 in costs as he was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, after being found guilty of fraud by false representation following a trial.
Marshall falsely claimed to prospective buyers on eBay that he was a senior footman at Windsor Castle and said the late Queen used the stick in the months leading up to her death “as she struggled with her mobility”.
The conman also said the money raised would go to Cancer Research UK, another claim that was debunked as false.
After he was uncovered, Marshall said the sale “was not a scam but a joke made in bad taste and later a social experiment to see how much attention his post would receive”.
Initially he alleged his account had been hacked by someone in Spain, however prosecutors revealed he had previously been searching for “the Queen” and “how to delete an eBay listing”.
Julie Macey, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex, said: “Dru Marshall used the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to try and hoodwink the public with a fake charity auction – fuelled by greed and a desire for attention.
“Marshall’s scheme was ultimately foiled before he could successfully con any unsuspecting victims – and the CPS will continue to work hand-in-glove with law enforcement to bring fraudsters to justice.”
Queen Elizabeth passed away on September 8 2022 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, at the age of 96. Her death came just 17 months after her husband Prince Philip’s passing, aged 99.
