A mum lied for years to con her best friend and bridesmaid out of more than £100,000.
Anna Bonner asked Susan Hughes for vast sums of money which she said was supporting a sick friend’s cancer treatment but which was actually being used to support her own lifestyle. The 40-year-old, from Liscard, even encouraged a crush Ms Hughes had on the man, who she only met a few times, getting her to write letters and send gifts that she believed were going to him but were actually being stolen by Bonner.
A judge at Liverpool Crown Court labelled the mum-of-three “greedy, devious and manipulative” as she jailed her this morning after she pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Charlotte Atherton, prosecuting, said Bonner and Ms Hughes became friends in 1999 after meeting through their jobs at a care home in Heswall.
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She said they quickly formed a close bond, going on holidays together and even living together for a period. Bonner even had Hughes as her chief bridesmaid at her wedding and the two regularly went on nights out in New Brighton together. It was one of these nights out that provided Bonner with the basis for a fraud which ended up lasting for years.
The two women would frequently go to RJ’s, a club in New Brighton, and Ms Hughes would speak to a bouncer who she was romantically interested in there. Bonner told her he was her uncle and, in 2015, told Ms Hughes that he had gone to prison and was being tormented for the clothes he was wearing. She asked Ms Hughes for some money to help him, which Ms Hughes provided.
Her lies snowballed as she later told her best friend the man, who she said was called ‘Ste Lucas’, had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and needed experimental treatment that could only be provided in the USA. Ms Hughes began handing over money, sometimes up to £3,000 in a single month, to Bonner in the belief it was supporting the man’s medical treatment.
Bonner kept this money for herself, while also encouraging Ms Hughes to send letters, cards and gifts to the man. The court heard Bonner kept some of these herself.
When police started to investigate Bonner's fraud, in 2020 they tried to contact ‘Ste Lucas’ but he was never found. Ms Hughes sent just over £117,000 to Bonner's accounts during the five year period her best friend duped her.
Ms Atherton said: “The defendant deliberately misled Ms Hughes into thinking that she was communicating with Ste and providing money for his medical rehabilitation when in fact the defendant was the one taking money for herself. The defendant used pressure techniques, applying deadlines to the payments of funds and used emotional pressure to suggest Ms Hughes may have a future with Ste if she paid over the money.”
She said Ms Hughes had to leave her job as a mental health nurse as a result of what Bonner had done to her and was now in crippling debt. Her credit rating is in tatters and she has had to move back in with her parents.
Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said Bonner was remorseful and ashamed of what she had done but said probation officers had struggled even now to figure out what exactly motivated her.
He said: “It is in one way bizarre that she became involved in this, particularly in relation to somebody who she considered, and who considered her, to be a friend.”
Mr Parry-Jones appealed to the judge, Louise Brandon, to hand Bonner a suspended sentence if possible, saying she had caring responsibilities for her family. Bonner has a one-year-old child and a 15-year-old who is disabled and requires care.
Judge Brandon told Bonner the seriousness of her offences meant only a jail term was suitable for her. She said: “This was a mean and nasty offence committed by a greedy, devious and manipulative woman. You have not repaid a penny and you have destroyed a friendship.”
Referring to the effect on Bonner’s family, Judge Brandon said: “It is regrettable that you did not consider the impact on them before you committed these offences.” Bonner, of Seaview Road, Liscard, was jailed for 28 months.
