A BUSINESSMAN has appeared in court in connection with an alleged plot which saw an American dementia sufferer flown to the UK.

Roger Curry, 76, was discovered outside the bus station in Hereford in November 2015.

The case baffled police and sparked a global appeal to discover the identity of Mr Curry and how he came to be in Britain.

Simon Hayes, 52, from Taunton, appeared at Hereford Magistrates' Court today (Wednesday) in connection with the case.

He is charged with one count of fraud, one of perverting the course of justice and two counts of possessing fake letters and references for the use in fraud.

The fraud charge alleges he "found an unknown male and then handed him over to the care of the NHS, intending to cause loss to the NHS or to expose that organisation to a risk of loss".

All the charges are said to be contrary to the Fraud Act 2006.

Hayes, who was wearing a blue hoodie and jeans, spoke only to confirm his name and address during the five-minute hearing.

He was given unconditional bail and ordered to return to Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday, May 23.

Mr Curry was cared for at a nursing home in Credenhill, Hereford, for eight months before being flown back to Los Angeles.

Police spent months trying to work out who he was, despite contacting local care homes, hospitals and even international embassies.

Mr Curry appeared to have been cared for and was found wearing new clothes.

He lived in a care home run by Herefordshire Council but was eventually identified after a viewer responded to a police appeal on BBC Midlands Today.

Debbie Cocker found an old picture from a 1958 yearbook for Edmonds High School in Washington State which appeared to show Mr Curry in his younger days.

Mr Curry was then tracked down by investigators to a burnt-out house following a fire at his home in 2014 in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles.

Neighbours identified the mystery man as Mr Curry, a former nurse married with two children.

In a BBC Panorama documentary, his son Kevin said he had nothing to do with the abandonment of his dad.

Mr Hayes, who has told the County Gazette he intends to plead not guilty to all charges, was originally arrested in April 2016 in connection with the suspected kidnapping of Mr Curry in November 2015.

He has been bailed on a number of occasions but has been told by West Mercia Police that he is not being charged with kidnap.