Romance fraudster who was 'blinded by greed' jailed

A romance fraudster who conned men into spending tens of thousands of pounds to fund her "lavish lifestyle" has been jailed.

Model Gemma Kingsley, 50, was handed a sentence of seven years and seven months at Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday.

Across four years Kingsley, of Beadnell in Northumberland, wove "a web of lies", tricking men into relationships saying she was soon to inherit a large fortune, using that to persuade them to spend huge sums on her behalf.

Sentencing her, Judge Jason Taylor KC said: "Blinded by your greed you persistently and manipulatively pulled whatever lever you thought necessary to fund your extravagant lifestyle."

One of her victims said in a statement read out in court: "I fear my daughter no longer looks up to me as she once did and that I am an untrustworthy and flawed parent.

"I am still struggling to come to terms with what Gemma did to me.

"I am suffering from crippling anxiety. I am trying to rebuild my life but I feel used and manipulated. I feel violated and betrayed."

As well as manipulating the men to spend large sums of money on her, Kingsley also stole or used false bank card details to pay thousands of pounds for hotel stays, including at a five-star Alpine resort in France, the court heard.

At a previous hearing, she 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.

Judge Taylor told Kingsley: "You are a con woman who traded on her good looks to ensnare your victims.

"Your greed was insatiable. Your duplicity and brass neck is staggering. You were a well spoken, educated and glamorous serial fraudster."

Kingsley will have to serve half of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.