Has this conwoman stolen my identity?
Mum’s driving licence turns up in fraudster’s hotel room
A mum- of- two fears a notorious fraudster stole her identity and went on the run after allegedly swindling dozens of guests at the hotel where they worked.
Jill McGregor, 52, believes Pauline Flett, 33, pinched her driving licence amid claims she cheated customers in a bank and credit card sting.
A dad found the document in Bolton – more than 200 miles away – after he rented a room to the crook.
Jill said: “I got a message out of the blue from a man I didn’t know on Facebook.
“He traced me after he had bother with a woman his family had taken in.
“He told me they had rented out a room to this lady, but she had done a runner after buying a car and mobile phone in somebody else’s name.
“He says he found my driving licence in her bedroom after she disappeared.
“My heart just sunk, I knew who it was straight away – it was Pauline Flett. “She told them she was a trauma nurse. “They had no idea what they had let themselves in for.”
Jill was taken on by Flett at Paisley’s Scotia House Hotel after she answered an advert on social media.
They worked together for months before complaints over extraneous payments came flooding in.
Jill, of nearby Ferguslie, has since left the firm and took up work as a community carer.
The mum told how she was befriended by Flett and trusted her enough to give her personal information.
She now worries her former pal may have used her details to fleece others.
Jill added: “Pauline was my boss at the hotel and seemed lovely.
“I was renewing my car insurance and taking forever to do it on my phone.
“She told me she would help, so I gave her all my personal details, my address, date of birth and even my bank numbers, and handed her over my driving licence.
“A few days later I started wondering why I hadn’t heard from the insurance company.
“But before I got the chance to ask, the complaints started coming in from guests at the hotel and she was gone.”
A police launched a probe after guests at the hotel complained in the summer.
Flett worked as a live- in manager at the New Sneddon Street business for around six months before concerns over bogus charges were raised in May.
The owners noticed their takings had nosedived in a matter of weeks and furniture and valuables had also gone missing.
They raised the alarm when Flett – who also uses the names Reid and Campbell and is believed to have given fake details when apply for the job – fled in the middle of the night.
Jill says she has since received contact from takeaway delivery service Hungry House informing her bank details have been saved by a user in Blackpool.
She continued: “The woman leaves a trail of misery everywhere she goes.
“She has no regard for the people she has conned.
“I have no idea what she might have used my name to do.
“It’s frightening to think somebody could be out there using your identity, especially somebody like her.”
Flett – nicknamed Batgirl because of a distinctive tattoo of the animal on her arm – was one of Scotland’s most wanted fraudsters when she was finally caught in 2016 after years of evading justice.
She was arrested over a string of frauds after handing herself in at a police station in Blackpool.
Flett gave herself up so bounty hunters could not claim a £2,000 Crimestoppers reward.
The con artist, from Buckie, Banffshire, had taunted the authorities – even posting a selfie with an unsuspecting police officer on social media.
She was finally convicted last June and ordered to pay compensation for embezzling £1,159 from a Shell service station in July 2008.
Livingston Sheriff Court heard Flett turned to fraud to fund a £130-a-day cocaine habit.
She was wanted for a string of offences committed across Scotland from 2006 to 2013.
Crimestoppers announced a £2,000 reward for information leading to her capture in January last year.
At the time, Glasgow Sheriff Court had three warrants outstanding for her arrest while Edinburgh Sheriff Court had five.
Police Scotland confirmed enquiries into allegations of fraud at the hotel are ongoing.
My heart just sunk, I knew who it was straight away – Pauline Flett Jill McGregor