Glam model, 50, ‘spun web of lies’ to trick lovelorn blokes into spending thousands

Julie Kingsley, 42, from Northumberland pleaded guilty to fraud and theft after conning multiple victims by pretending she was due to inherit millions – funding Porsche and Land Rover deposits

A glamorous model who allegedly conned lovelorn blokes of thousands of pounds is staring down the barrel of serious jail time.

Gemma Kingsley, 50, is alleged to have “spun a web of lies”, convincing the men to splurge huge sums of cash over four years. The woman is accused of tricking the men into a relationship and telling them she was due to inherit a large fortune.

Kingsley exploited that to manipulate them into spending enormous amounts on her behalf, including a proposed wedding. On other occasions she pilfered or utilised fraudulent bank card details to fund thousands of pounds worth of hotel accommodation.

Kingsley, of Beadnell, Northumberland, entered guilty pleas at a hearing at Swindon Crown Court last month and is set to be sentenced on March 25.

She confessed to six counts of theft, four counts of fraud by false representation, two counts of using a false instrument with intent that it will be accepted as genuine and one count of being in possession of an article for use in fraud.

One victim, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily Mail: “This isn’t some hot blonde in heels who has bamboozled a couple of guys, not at all. “This was a woman who was well-spoken, educated, not unattractive and who used complex means to deceive people and gain their trust.”

Wiltshire Police were initially alerted about Kingsley in 2019 following a report that she had fraudulently used the bank details of her mother’s friend to cover a stay at Cromhall Farm near Chippenham.

An inquiry was launched and other forces also shared information about parallel investigations into Kingsley.

One of those cases involved a romance fraud which stretched back to 2016. The police discovered that between January 2016 and January 2018, Kingsley was in a relationship with the victim, during which she convinced him she was set to receive a multi-million-pound inheritance, providing fake letters from professionals as evidence.

The victim splashed out tens of thousands of pounds on furniture for a new home, dental bills, her debts and a payment for a wedding that never took place, under the impression he would recoup the money through the inheritance.

She also frequently used his bank cards to pilfer money and opened a betting account in his name, into which she deposited a large sum of his money, which she subsequently lost through gambling.

After that relationship ended in 2018, the following year she began a relationship with another victim, once again deceiving him into believing she was about to inherit a substantial fortune.

As a result, he assisted her with hefty deposits for a Land Rover and a Porsche, as well as lavish hotel stays they couldn’t afford.

The victim also accumulated a large debt due to her misuse of his bank cards.

In two further brief relationships in autumn 2019, Kingsley repeatedly used the victims’ personal and company bank cards to make purchases without their consent.

Wiltshire Police’s fraud team also found that Kingsley had committed theft and fraud against numerous other victims, including solicitor’s firms, lawyers and a bank, by forging documents and letters.