A conman from Wembley accused of murdering an oil millionaire pretended he was a doctor after she died and told an escort girl he was sad because he had lost a female patient, the Old Bailey heard.

Rakesh Bhayani, 41, of Chamberlayne Avenue, and Nicholas Kutner, 48, from Kentish Town, murdered Carole Waugh so they could gamble away her life savings in casinos, it is claimed.

The 49-year-old from Marylebone was killed in April last year and between May and July Bhayani lost hundreds of thousands pounds on the gaming tables.

Bhayani would often take high class call girls to the casinos and one recalled seeing a safe stuffed with £50 notes when she was with him in a hotel.

Ali Fernandez said Bhayani told her he was a doctor at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

She charged him £1,000 for three hours and they went to a casino in Knightsbridge together where he lost thousands of pounds.

On another trip she was paid £500 for 30 minutes.

When she saw him take a wad of £50 notes from the hotel the escort said there were ‘loads more in the safe.’

The court has heard that both Kutner and Bhayani were professional conmen and gambling addicts with previous convictions.

Both men admit fraud but deny murder.

A third man, Elie Khoury, 40, from Paddington, is accused of conspiracy to defraud.

Miss Waugh, a part-time escort who used the name ‘poshtottyfun ‘ on dating websites, was found dead in the boot of a car in south London, on August 2 last year.

Kutner and Bhayani both deny murder but admit conspiracy to defraud.

Bhayani has admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice while Kutner denies the charge.

Khoury denies one count of conspiracy to defraud.

The trial continues.