A woman who conned a man she met on a social media dating site out of more than £30,000 of his inheritance has been jailed for 19 months.
Leigh Dennis had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation, and possession of extreme pornographic images, as she appeared for sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court.
Prosecutor Rebecca Smith told the court 24-year-old Dennis used social media websites to commit “romance fraud”, conning Colt Candeias out of £33,672 between January and June 2021, and Aaron Carroll out of £1,940 between January and July 2021.
The court heard Mr Candeias, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder and difficulties with communication, met Dennis on Facebook dating, and she later asked him to subscribe to her Only Fans account.
She said the fraud began with Dennis asking Mr Candeias to send her food orders to her address in Wallasey, and she gave a variety of reasons for needing money including for council tax, to buy goods for a friend from Argos, help with rent, or that she was having suicidal thoughts.
Things soon escalated and Dennis received electrical and electronic goods including nine iPhones, items for pets, a new washing machine, money, jewellery, and even convinced him to send sums of money to other people.
The then-22-year-old duped Mr Candeias into handing over £5,000 to a man who Dennis had told him was her landlord.
Mr Candeias used the inheritance he had received after his mum’s death, and despite making efforts to meet Dennis, the pair never met in real life.
His bank, Barclays, raised suspicions of fraud and investigated before involving the police.
A search was carried out at Dennis’ address, and some of the items bought by Mr Candeias, including the washing machine, were found.
The victim’s phone was searched and numerous Snapchat messages from Dennis requesting money were found.
Dennis’ phone was also analysed and showed messages from a separate party relating to her receiving money in return for engaging in sexual activity with a dog, with 11 extreme pornographic images recovered showing her undertaking that activity.
In relation to the second victim, Mr Carroll and Dennis also matched on Facebook dating and he also subscribed to her Only Fans account.
The prosecutor told the court: “Dennis said it would cost £50 to meet up, which Mr Carroll sent. They spoke on WhatsApp to organise the meeting, which didn’t take place, and after Dennis asked for more money so that she could have a threesome.”
After this, Dennis continued to ask for food, utilities, a condolence gift for her grandmother after the death of her grandfather, money to be sent to others, and orders from Argos.
If Mr Carroll asked for repayments, she would either ignore him, claim online banking was not working, or say she had not been paid.
In July 2021, Mr Carroll refused to send any more money, and Dennis said her water had been cut off and she was “on the verge of suicide”.
The two never met and Mr Carroll did not report matters to the police as he didn’t believe he could get the money back.
Dennis was interviewed on July 22, 2021, and claimed the gifts she received from Mr Candeias were unprompted, and that all nine iPhones were for her as she kept breaking them.
She also denied taking advantage of Mr Candeias, and initially said the interactions were “mutually beneficial” but couldn’t explain how, before admitting there was no benefit.
The mother-of-one was interviewed again on November 5, and said she had always intended to meet Mr Candeias, and to pay him back, but denied having any knowledge of Mr Carroll as she said she spoke to lots of people and didn’t remember them all.
Andrew McInnes, defending, said Dennis moved back to the Wirral from London where she had lived for a short time, when she began to engage in drugs.
She joined various social media channels to date people, but then discovered she could make money through Only Fans.
Mr McInnes said Dennis originally received gifts and money, but “matters clearly snowballed”.
He said: “She clearly engaged in risk taking behaviour without the thought of consequences for others or herself. She was always likely to be caught, and made no attempt to hide who she was.”
Mr McInnes said she did intend to meet Mr Candeias but then it became fraudulent, and she had no idea he was vulnerable or that he was autistic, as it did not appear in the messages between the two.
Mr McInnes said Dennis has shown genuine remorse for what she has done, and is focussed on being a good mum to her child.
At this point in proceedings, His Honour Judge Brian Cummings KC interjected and said he was “bothered by the chronology”, as the baby would have been conceived after Dennis had been interviewed and was under investigation.
Mr McInnes responded: “She was just very keen to have a child and would say it has nothing to do with these proceedings.
“Two years ago she never believed she would act the way that she did, she has put the victims and her family through a significant ordeal.”
In sentencing, Judge Cummings KC said the offending had “serious detrimental effects” on a “particularly vulnerable” victim.
He said he knew that the bank had refunded £13,000 to Mr Candeias, but that still left him out of pocket to the tune of £20,000.
Judge Cummings added: “I accept that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and as serious as these offences are, you are still a young woman, so nobody is writing you off.
"It is extremely regrettable that immediate custody will have a harmful effect on your baby, but there is nothing I can do about that, this is a consequence of your actions.”
Dennis, of Palatine Road, Wallasey, was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment, and a restraining order barring her from contacting Mr Candeias for five years was implemented.
