Devious mum scammed lovestruck bridesmaid out of £117k for fake cancer treatment
A mum-of-three conned her best friend of more than 20 years out of £117,000 and made her believe that she was sending the money to a cancer patient she had a crush on.
Anna Bonner, from Liscard, Merseyside, asked lovestruck Susan Hughes for thousands of pounds each month to supposedly go towards a sick pal's medical treatment.
Instead, the 40-year-old kept the money for herself as well as gifts that she had persuaded Hughes to send to the man, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Bonner span a web of lies to encourage a crush her pal had on the man, who she only met on a few occasions and persuaded her to write him letters.
A judge branded her actions “greedy, devious and manipulative” and jailed her for 28 months after she pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.
Bonner and Hughes have been friends since 1999 and she even had Hughes be her chief bridesmaid at her wedding, reports Liverpool Echo.
The two women would frequently go to RJ’s, a club in New Brighton, and Hughes would speak to a bouncer who she was romantically interested in there.
Bonner told her he was her uncle and, in 2015, told Hughes that he had gone to prison and was being tormented for the clothes he was wearing.
She asked Hughes for some money to help him, which Hughes provided.
Her lies snowballed as she later told her best friend the man, who she said was called "Ste Lucas", had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and needed experimental treatment that could only be provided in the USA.
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Hughes began handing over money, sometimes up to £3,000 in a single month, to Bonner in the belief it was supporting the man’s medical treatment.
She sent just over £117,000 to Bonner's accounts during the five years her best friend duped her.
Charlotte Atherton, prosecuting, said: "The defendant used pressure techniques, applying deadlines to the payments of funds and used emotional pressure to suggest Ms Hughes may have a future with Ste if she paid over the money.”
She said Hughes had to leave her job as a mental health nurse as a result of what Bonner had done to her and was now in crippling debt.
Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said Bonner was remorseful and ashamed of what she had done but said probation officers had struggled even now to figure out what exactly motivated her.
He said: “It is in one way bizarre that she became involved in this, particularly in relation to somebody who she considered, and who considered her, to be a friend.”
Mr Parry-Jones appealed to the judge, Louise Brandon, to hand Bonner a suspended sentence if possible, saying she had caring responsibilities for her family.
Judge Brandon told Bonner the seriousness of her offences meant only a jail term was suitable for her.
She said: “This was a mean and nasty offence committed by a greedy, devious and manipulative woman. You have not repaid a penny and you have destroyed a friendship.”
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