Jail for romance fraudster from Northumberland who conned men out of thousands
A romance fraudster ‘blinded by greed’ who conned several men out of over £150,000 has been jailed.
Gemma Kingsley, from Beadnell, ‘traded on good looks and romantic entanglement’ to lure men into fake relationships to bankroll her lavish lifestyle, Swindon Combined Court heard.
Appearing via a video-link, Kingsley, 50, was told by Judge Jason Taylor KC that she was a ‘financial predator always on the prowl for extra prey’.
Kingsley would inform her victims that she was soon to inherit fortunes as large as £80m - a claim she used to pressure them into spending large sums on her behalf, including on a planned wedding said to cost in the region of £100,000.
On other occasions, also impacting four others, she stole or used false bank card details to pay thousands of pounds for hotel stays.
The court heard that she falsified bank statements and organised viewings of properties worth several million pounds to convince her victims that her claims were authentic.
Kingsley had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of using a false instrument and one count of being in possession of an article for use in fraud.
She has now been sentenced to a seven years and seven months prison term.
DC Melissa Pope, from the Wiltshire Police Fraud team, said: “Kingsley wove a web of lies with her victims, causing significant emotional anxiety and long-term mental and financial harm.
“She manipulated their emotions, assuring them that through her future inheritance she would be able to repay the considerable sums of money that they were spending on her behalf. “