Model who ‘traded on her good looks’ to con adoring men out of thousands is jailed

A model who lured a series of men into sham relationships then conned them into spending thousands to fund her flash lifestyle has been jailed for more than seven years.

Gemma Kingsley, 50, ‘wove a web of lies with her victims’, promising them she was set to inherit £42 million from her grandfather.

She leveraged that fictitious fortune to compel them to spend huge sums of money on her behalf, including on a planned wedding, furniture for a new home, dental bills and other debts.

Jailing her at Swindon Crown Court today, Judge Jason Taylor KC told her: ‘Your duplicity and brass neck is staggering. You are a common thief who traded on her charm, charisma and good looks to ensnare victims without any regard to the train of destruction being left behind by your greed.’

At a previous hearing, Kingsley, of Beadnell, Northumberland, 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.

She was jailed for seven years and seven months.

Detectives found that between January 2016 and January 2018 Kingsley was in a relationship with one victim, during which she informed him she was due to receive a multi-million-pound inheritance, producing forged letters from professionals as proof.

Kingsley told him she was inheriting a ‘total inheritance fund’ of £42 million from her grandfather and added that a solicitor had said she would be receiving £16 million.

As a result, the man spent tens of thousands of pounds on furniture for a new home, dental bills, her debts and a payment for a wedding which did not take place on the assumption he would soon be reimbursed through the inheritance.

She also repeatedly used his bank cards to steal money and opened a betting account in his name, into which she put a large amount of his money, which she then lost through gambling.

This victim ‘lost in excess of £100,000’ after falling for her lies.

Following the breakdown of this relationship in 2018, the following year Kingsley started a relationship with another victim, again misleading him into believing she was about to inherit a large fortune.

As a result, he assisted her with significant deposits for a Land Rover and a Porsche, as well as expensive hotel stays for which they had no means to pay.

The victim also incurred a large debt through her use of his bank cards.

In two further brief relationships in the autumn of 2019, Kingsley again repeatedly used the victims’ personal and company bank cards to make purchases without their knowledge.

Police also found that Kingsley had committed theft and fraud against numerous other victims, including solicitor’s firms, lawyers and a bank, by falsifying documents and letters.

Kingsley was later charged with various offences but failed to attend to court.

In June last year, she was arrested on the Isle of Skye after being spotted speeding.

The judge said: ‘Blinded by your greed, you persistently and manipulatively pulled whatever lever you thought necessary to extract as much as you could to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

‘Your principal lever was emotional, convincing men that their sincere feelings for you were reciprocated.

‘Two were recently divorced and, to some degree, more vulnerable and exposed because of that.

‘Telling them and others that you were due to inherit a fortune, worth as much as £80 million at one point.

‘You spun an intricate web of lies, including false documents, bank appointments and multimillion-pound house viewings, to add credibility to your claims.

‘The image you portrayed was so fantastical that it’s not hard to envisage how your victims were taken in by it because, bluntly, most people are not that divorced from reality.

‘Your lack of remorse was only matched by your guile in squeezing every last penny from one victim before moving on to the next.

‘You were a financial predator always on the prowl for easy prey.’

Detective Constable Melissa Pope, from Wiltshire Police’s 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 traumatic experience.

‘It is a huge breach of trust and self-esteem which can take years to recover from.’

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