Romance fraudster who wove web of lies pleads guilty to 13 offences
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A romance fraudster who conned men into spending tens of thousands of pounds and funding her expensive lifestyle has pleaded guilty to more than a dozen counts of theft and fraud.
Across four years, model Gemma Kingsley, 50, of Beadnell, Northumberland, wove “a web of lies” with several victims, tricking men into relationships with her and informing them she was soon to inherit a large fortune, leveraging that to compel them to spend huge sums of money on her behalf, including on a planned wedding.
On other occasions, she stole or used false bank card details to pay thousands of pounds for hotel stays.
In a hearing yesterday at Swindon Crown Court (04/02), she pleaded guilty to:
- 6 counts of theft
- 4 counts of fraud by false representation
- 2 counts of using a false instrument with intent that it will be accepted as genuine
- 1 count of being in possession of an article for use in fraud.
She was remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced on March 25.
The investigation
In 2019, Wiltshire Police received a report that Kingsley had fraudulently used the bank details of her mother’s friend to pay for a stay at Cromhall Farm near Chippenham.
An investigation was launched, and a number of concurrent investigations into Kingsley from other forces were passed to the Wiltshire Police Fraud team to progress, including significant cases of romance fraud dating back to 2016.
Our investigation found that between January 2016 and January 2018, Kingsley was in a relationship with the victim during which she informed him she was due to receive a multi-million-pound inheritance, producing forged letters from professionals as proof.
As a result, the victim spent tens of thousands of pounds on furniture for a new home, dental bills, her debts and a payment for a wedding which didn’t happen on the assumption he would soon be reimbursed through the inheritance.
She also repeatedly used his bank cards to steal money and opened a betting account in his name into which she put a large amount of his money, which she then lost through gambling.
Following the breakdown of this relationship in 2018, the following year Kingsley started a relationship with another victim, again misleading him into believing she was about to inherit a large fortune.
As a result, he assisted her with significant deposits for a Land Rover and a Porsche, as well as expensive hotel stays for which they had no means to pay.
The victim also incurred a large debt through her use of his bank cards.
In two further brief relationships in the autumn of 2019, Kingsley again repeatedly used the victims’ personal and company bank cards to make purchases without their knowledge.
Our investigation also found that Kingsley had committed theft and fraud against numerous other victims, including solicitor’s firms, lawyers and a bank, by falsifying documents and letters.
Court proceedings
Kingsley was first interviewed about the offences in May 2020, where she denied all offences and claimed to be the victim herself.
From January 2021, officers repeatedly attempted to interview her for a second time but were unable to make contact with her. She was eventually tracked down to a property in Bristol in August 2022, where she was arrested for a second time. She again denied the offences.
Officers in our Fraud team continued to build the case file, and in March 2025 the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges against Kingsley.
In May 2025, we established that Kingsley was now living in a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands, where she was personally served the summons to attend Swindon Magistrates’ Court on June 18th.
She failed to attend, claiming not to know what she had been charged with.
A warrant was issued for her arrest, and on June 29th a car she was travelling in on the Isle of Skye was stopped by officers from Police Scotland after it had been spotted speeding.
She was arrested and then remanded into custody.
Yesterday, after several months of delaying court hearings, she pleaded guilty to 13 offences against her.
DC Melissa Pope, from our Fraud team, said: “Kingsley wove a web of lies with her victims, causing significant emotional anxiety and long-term mental and financial harm.
“She manipulated their emotions, assuring them that through her future inheritance she would be able to repay the considerable sums of money that they were spending on her behalf.
“For one of the victims, an expensive wedding which had been planned, for which the victim’s relatives had booked to come from Australia, was cancelled at short notice.
“Following the launch of our investigation, Kingsley delayed the court process, denying what she had done until the final moment before a trial would be arranged.
“She lied continuously through the investigation, giving false statements and communicating various health issues as to why she shouldn’t face charges.
“I’m pleased she has finally admitted the romance fraud charges against her, as well as a number of other fraud and theft offences relating to other victims. I hope that her victims can now start to move on from this experience.
“I want to highlight that for romance fraud cases like Kingsley’s, while there are significant financial losses, it is often the emotional impact on the victims that has a more lasting impact.
“It is a huge breach of trust and self-esteem which can take years to recover from.
“If you suspect that you have been caught in a romance scam, please recognise that you are a victim and there is no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed.
“Please report it to the police or Report Fraud and keep a record of your interactions and documentation.”
More information on romance fraud can be found at Romance fraud | Wiltshire Police.