A serial romance fraudster who spun an elaborate fantasy about a vast inheritance to fleece unsuspecting lovers out of huge sums of money has been jailed.
Gemma Kingsley, 50, was today sentenced for seven years and seven months at Swindon Crown Court after admitting a string of theft and fraud offences that funded her lavish lifestyle.
The former model, from Beadnell, Northumberland, preyed on a series of men over four years, convincing them she was on the brink of inheriting millions and persuading them to bankroll everything from luxury cars to a wedding that never took place.
In reality, the inheritance did not exist.
Kingsley pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including six counts of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of using a false instrument and one count of possessing an article for use in fraud.
The court heard how she ‘wove a web of lies’ to manipulate victims into handing over tens of thousands of pounds, leaving them emotionally and financially devastated.
Sentencing the judge said: ‘The common theme is your utter dishonesty. You are a conned woman who traded on her charm and good looks to entice victims. Blinded by your greed you persistently and manipulatively pulled whatever leaver you thought was necessary to fund your extravagant lifestyle.’
He added: ‘You were a financial predator always on the prowl for financial prey.’
Gemma Kingsley, a 50-year-old mother-of-four, appeared at Swindon Crown Court where she was unmasked as a manipulative conwoman who had duped a string of victims out of thousands of pounds to support her lavish lifestyle
Kinglsey admitted six counts of theft and a further seven fraud charges, involving more than £150,000 and – already on remand after going on the run twice – she now faces an extended stay in prison after she is sentenced next week
Her offending spanned multiple relationships. In one case, between 2016 and 2018, she convinced a partner she was due a multi-million-pound payout from her grandfather’s will, even producing forged letters to support the claim.
They had moved in together, renting a property in a street where houses command more than £5,000 a month, and planned to marry.
Believing he would soon be reimbursed, he spent more than £100,000 on furniture, dental work, her debts and a planned wedding – only for it all to collapse.
She also secretly used his bank cards and opened a betting account in his name, losing large amounts of his money through gambling.
According to one friend, she took her late mother to a swanky bridal shop on London’s Baker Street to look at dresses and commissioned a dressmaker to travel from Egypt to carry out fittings.
She told her fiancé the expenses she was racking up would be covered by the £16million coming her way from an inheritance fund from her grandfather.
The lies were meticulously sown. She even produced forged bank documents and letters to back her claims.
In a victim impact statement he said: ‘I fear I am seen as gullible, foolish and of poor character. My daughter no longer looks up to me as she once did, this is particularly heartbreaking. It has effect my confidence and self worth.’
He went on to add: ‘I am humiliated, mortified and embarrassed.’
Within one month of that relationship ending, Kingsley began targeting another man, again claiming a fortune was imminent.
The man, an attractive former Royal Naval College high-flier, who had a broken marriage behind him when he became entranced by the 5ft 11in Kingsley, was persuaded to fund deposits on a Land Rover and a Porsche, as well as expensive hotel stays, while also racking up significant debt through her use of his bank cards.
He even fell for her lies that she was close to buying a £7.5million home, which he would move into with her. This ultimately left him homeless for a time, as by the time she lied that the house had fallen through he had already given up his own flat.
She even encouraged him to give up his job, on the promise that he could become a trustee of her imaginary fund, something which he agreed to do and was on gardening leave by the time he figured out she was lying to him.
In total from their time together, he lost more than £30,000 because of her lies.
He described this time as ‘cognitive sea sickness’.
To the men she ensnared, Kingsley must have appeared quite the catch. Tall and slender, with a tumbling mass of blonde hair, she had charm and charisma in abundance
Two further victims were similarly exploited later that year, with Kingsley using their personal and company cards without their knowledge.
One victim described to the Daily Mail how he had a lucky escape after meeting Kingsley through an online dating site in 2019, and was invited to her house for dinner.
The next day, when his bank called to report some suspicious activity on his credit cards, the man realised, with horror, that his glamorous date had rifled through his pockets in between courses and taken photos of his cards, which she’d then used to go on an online shopping spree.
Another victim told how she spent 24,000 euros on four and five star hotels in a ‘well-know, high-end Alpine resort’ in France, leading to a conviction in France for false representation where she was fined 6000 euros.
And her scams weren’t restricted to romance, either.
In 2017, before her criminal activities came to light, Kingsley even managed to con a family law KC, employed to defend her in a civil case, leaving him £12,000 out of pocket and full of regret that he didn’t act on his niggling feeling that something wasn’t quite right with his new client.
‘I realised I’d been well and truly stung,’ he told the Daily Mail.
The case first came to light in 2019 after she used a family friend’s bank details to pay for a stay at Cromhall Farm near Chippenham, prompting an investigation by Wiltshire Police.
Officers later uncovered a pattern of offending stretching back several years and involving multiple forces.
Kingsley initially denied all allegations and repeatedly delayed proceedings, even going on the run before being tracked down to a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands.
She failed to attend court when first summoned and was eventually arrested after being stopped in a speeding car on the Isle of Skye.
After months of postponements, she finally admitted the charges shortly before trial.
Kingsley grew up in a well-to-do, but not affluent, family in south-west London with her mother, a homeopath, her brother, later a successful businessman, and her grandmother.
Kingsley first dabbled in modelling before marrying and having her eldest daughter in 2005, followed by a son.
When that marriage ended, she went on to have two more children with a chef, but that relationship also foundered.
A tall, dark-haired businessman from Hertfordshire, was so convinced by Kingsley’s web of lies that they moved in together. From 2016 to 2018, he spent vast sums planning their wedding, doing house renovations, paying her dental bills and clearing her debts
Back then she was, friends say, a ‘doting mother’ for whom her children were everything.
DC Melissa Pope, from 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.
‘For one of the victims, an expensive wedding which had been planned, for which the victim’s relatives had booked to come from Australia, was cancelled at short notice.
‘Following the launch of our investigation, Kingsley delayed the court process, denying what she had done until the final moment before a trial would be arranged.
‘She lied continuously through the investigation, giving false statements and communicating various health issues as to why she shouldn’t face charges.
‘I’m pleased she has finally admitted the romance fraud charges against her, as well as a number of other fraud and theft offences relating to other victims. I hope that her victims can now start to move on from this experience.
‘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.
‘It is a huge breach of trust and self-esteem which can take years to recover from.
‘If you suspect that you have been caught in a romance scam, please recognise that you are a victim and there is no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
‘Please report it to the police or Report Fraud and keep a record of your interactions and documentation.’
