Fraudster said mum was dead
A FRAUDSTER who conned her victim out of £9,000 by saying her mother had died has been jailed for more than two years.
Joann Wood used a false name to befriend her female victim before faking a distressing phone call in front of her, claiming her mum had fallen.
Wood, 60, later made up a story in which she said her mother had died and she needed £2,500 to buy a headstone for her grave.
And she then demanded another £6,500 from the 62-year-old woman so she could buy a house.
Wood tricked her victim while awaiting trial for duping a 91-year-old lady out of £1,300 by saying she worked for Age Concern.
Wood, of Countesthorpe, Leics, admitted fraudulently obtaining £9,000 by false representation between October 2015 and April 2016 at Leicester Crown Court.
She was jailed on Friday after earlier receiving a 50week jail sentence for the crimes against her 91-yearold victim.
The woman died before Wood was sentenced.
Judge Philip Head told Wood: “You’re dishonest in every fibre of your body.”