A woman who was conned out of £117,000 by her best friend is unlikely to get any of her money back.
Susan Hughes sent huge sums of money to Anna Bonner over a five year period in the belief it was being used to fund life-saving treatment for a sick relative. The whole story was a lie and Bonner, who had Ms Hughes as her chief bridesmaid, was in fact using the money to fund her own lifestyle.
She even encouraged a crush Ms Hughes had on the supposedly sick man, who she only met a few times, by getting her to send gifts intended for him which Bonner, of Liscard, would then steal. A judge labelled her “greedy, devious and manipulative” as she jailed her on Thursday.
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Yet Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 40 year old, who “hasn’t paid back a penny” of the money she stole, has little in the way of cash despite stealing such a huge amount, meaning Ms Hughes may never get any of her money back. Defendants who steal money can be pursued through the courts to pay back cash using a law called the Proceeds of Crime Act.
However, the court heard that in Bonner’s case she has limited assets and Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said his client had several thousand pounds of credit card debt.
Answering a question about Bonner’s financial position, Mr Parry-Jones said: “She has nothing. There is nothing there.” It means her victim will likely never see the vast majority of what was stolen, despite now being in financial difficulties herself.
Charlotte Atherton, prosecuting, said Ms Hughes had used credit cards to send money when asked by Bonner, causing her to run up debts. Ms Atherton said Ms Hughes now struggled even to get approval for store cards and had been forced to move in with her elderly relatives because of her financial troubles.
She said: “Ms Hughes is now back at home living with her parents and is in a large amount of debt with credit difficulties. She has suffered not only financial loss but now also has depression and anxiety which has led to her inability to work.”
The court heard Bonner deceived her friend of two decades by concocting a false story around a bouncer both of them knew. For a number of years, both women would frequently go to RJ’s, a club in New Brighton.
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. Judge Louise Brandon told Bonner, who has three children, that her lies had devastating financial, emotional and psychological effects on Ms Hughes and jailed her for 28 months.
