A romance fraudster who wove a “web of lies” and tricked men into spending tens of thousands of pounds to fund her luxury lifestyle has pleaded guilty to more than a dozen counts of theft and fraud.
Gemma Kingsley, 50, pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of using a false instrument with intent that it will be accepted as genuine, and one count of being in possession of an article for use in fraud at Swindon Crown Court.
Kingsley, a model from Beadnell, Northumberland, tricked several men over four years she was soon to inherit large sums, persuading them to splash the cash on her.
Such splurges included a wedding that never happened, with guests booked to arrive from Australia, and deposits on flashy cars.
Court documents showed that Kingsley told one man she was to receive a “total inheritance fund” of £42million from her grandfather and that a solicitor had said that she would be paid £16million.
During their two-year relationship, between January 2016 and January 2018, Kingsley defrauded him out of thousands of pounds on furniture for a new home, dental bills and her personal debts on the pretence he would be reimbursed through inheritance.
She also used his bank card to set up a gambling account in which she deposited significant sums and subsequently lost.
Documents show the first victim “lost in excess of £100,000”.
Gemma Kingsley wove a ‘web of lies’ and tricked men into spending tens of thousands of pounds to fund her luxury lifestyle
|
WILTSHIRE POLICE
Following the end of that relationship, Kingsley turned to her second victim, whom she also told she was to inherit large sums of cash.
She landed herself deposits on a Land Rover and a Porsche, along with expensive hotel stays, ultimately leaving him with significant debts.
The 50-year-old then began two further relationships later in 2019, repeatedly using victims’ personal and company bank cards to make purchases, leaving them unaware.
But her partners were not the only victims. Police found she committed theft and fraud against solicitors’ firms, lawyers and banks by falsifying documents.
Gemma Kingsley pleaded guilty to more than a dozen counts of theft and fraud at Swindon Crown Court earlier this week
|
GOOGLEKingsley was later charged with various offences but failed to attend court.
She was then arrested on the Isle of Skye last June after being seen speeding.
She is due to be sentenced on March 25.
DC Melissa Pope, from Wiltshire Police, 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.”
She added that Kingsley “delayed the court process”, denied any wrongdoing until the “final moment”, and “lied continuously through the investigation, giving false statements and communicating various health issues as to why she shouldn’t face charges.”
“I want to highlight that for romance fraud cases like Kingsley’s, while there are significant financial losses, it is often the emotional impact on the victims that has a more lasting impact,” she said.