A woman lied to a couple who were desperate for a baby that she was pregnant with twins in a £10,000 surrogacy scam.
Louise Kimmet showed pictures of a fake ultra sound and baby bump pictures to the Kennedys in weeks after learning an insemination had failed.
The 32-year-old mum, from Glasgow, first met the couple via an online surrogacy forum. where Kimmet had advertised her services to "help a family".
Kimmet admitted a single charge of fraud spanning from November 2020 and March 2021, but escaped at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
The first offender escaped a jail sentence after the judge said prison could negatively affect her children. reports Glasgow Live
The court heard that Mrs Kennedy responded to Kimmet's advert on an online surrogacy forum in August 2020.
The advert was posted under the name Lou M Graham. Mrs Kennedy and Kimmet spoke online and met face to face establishing a “strong friendship.”
Prosecutor Gemma Barclay said: “It was agreed she would provide services as a surrogate mother and informed the Kennedys that this would cost £10,000 for two embryos.”
Kimmet provided her bank details and her real name with an agreement confirmed in October 2020.
The Kennedys initially transferred £30 for ovulation tests and the insemination process began in January 2021.
Kimmet sent pictures of a positive pregnancy test to the Kennedys 10 to 14 days later.
They continued to stay in contact, with Kimmet claiming to experience “pregnancy symptoms” - attending hospital and her GP for treatment.
Miss Barclay said: “Kimmet continued to send pictures of her ongoing pregnancy and images of her bump.
“Mrs Kennedy found this strange as Kimmet was allegedly only a few weeks pregnant.”
Kimmet attended a five-week ultrasound with Mrs Kennedy who was not able to be in the room due to covid guidelines.
She showed a picture of what she claimed was the scan on her mobile phone and stated that medical staff “identified two embryotic sacks” in her womb.
Miss Barclay added: “Kimmet contacted Mrs Kennedy a few weeks later stating that she attended hospital again for a scan and said staff identified two heart beats.”
Mrs Kennedy bank transferred £1,000 to Kimmet for “ongoing expenses” on February 23, 2021.
This was part of an agreement to send £1,000 every four weeks.
Kimmet claimed she booked a scan for Mrs Kennedy to “see your babies.” Kimmet cancelled it claiming her daughter had covid but “re-arranged” it for later in March.
Mrs Kennedy was unable to contact Kimmet on the day of the scan until later in the night when she was told Kimmet had to attend hospital with her daughter who had seizures.
A woman claiming to be Kimmet’s sister contacted Mrs Kennedy saying that she was rushed to hospital.
Mrs Kennedy contacted Glasgow Royal Infirmary to find out that she was not a registered patient there or anywhere else in greater Glasgow.
Kimmet later contacted Mrs Kennedy providing images which showed “blood and blood clots” in her bathroom floor stating that she was “heartbroken.”
Mrs Kennedy, meanwhile, contacted Kimmet’s sister to tell her that she had “pretended to be a surrogate with my twins.”
Mrs Kennedy received £1,000 from Kimmet 15 minutes later in her bank account and she made attempts to apologise to her through a third party.
Kimmet attended a police station to hand herself in where she made full admissions.
She told them: “Aye, I hold my hands up, I did it, I made a mistake, it’s me that’s got to live with it, I have lost a good friend out of this as well.”
Graham Bryson, defending, told the court that Kimmet was "deeply remorseful" and apologised to the Kennedys on her behalf.
The lawyer added: "This didn't start as a scam or fraudulent activity.
"When she found out she wasn't pregnant she started to dig herself into a deeper, deeper hole.
"This was not necessarily for financial gain but by that point she had formed a strong friendship with the Kennedys.
"She said she didn't know how to break the news to Mrs Kennedy that there were no babies.
"She knew she wasn't pregnant in mid-January 2021, the initial pregnancy test was a false positive."
Sheriff Kevin McCarron told Kimmet that she "easily passed" the custodial threshold but held off putting her in prison as it would negatively impact her two children.
He said: "There was a level of deceit involved by you in a sustained deliberate fashion.
"One can't imagine the impact your actions have had on the Kennedys in this case."
Kimmet was tagged for four months keeping her indoors between 8pm and 7am. She was also put under supervision for 12 months.
