The man accused of tricking dozens of people out of £50,000

Past friends describe Carroll as charismatic, ambitious and someone people wanted to be around.

As a performing arts student at Sheffield Hallam University in 2021, he immersed himself in the theatre scene, acting and directing productions.

Following trips to London, friends said he painted a picture of a life on the verge of a major breakthrough.

Greg says Matt told him after months of auditions that he had landed a part in the next Marvel film.

“He told us how much he was gonna be making, which was in the millions.”

Carroll’s friends say he shared stories of schmoozing A-listers including Timothée Chalamet, screen-testing alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Holland, and turning down Holland’s invite to watch football together.

Greg says he and others believed the stories because they were “too stupid to make up”.

“ I completely and utterly fell for it – hook, line, and sinker,” he adds.

Over time, Carroll’s stories became more serious. Friends say Carroll told them a family member had attempted suicide, but the BBC has seen a message suggesting this was a lie.

Dan, a fellow drama student and co-founder of Huntsman Media, says he grew suspicious when a letter from Natwest arrived demanding he pay back £2,000 in debt on an account he never knew he had.

He says Carroll assured him it was an error after he had set up an expenses account in Dan’s name. Carroll showed him a screenshot of an email from the debt recovery firm, Moorcroft, which confirmed the “error” and said “no funds are owed”.

Moorcroft told the BBC it had no record of the email being sent and Dan believes the screenshot he was shown was “fake.”

Fearing bailiffs, Dan repaid the money, but his bank refused to reimburse him, saying the signature matched its records. Dan denies signing it.