A romance fraudster who conned men out of tens of thousands of pounds to fund her lifestyle has been jailed.
Gemma Kingsley, 50, spun what police described as a web of lies, convincing several victims she was due to inherit a multi million-pound fortune and using that claim to persuade them to spend large sums on her behalf.
She was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court today (Wednesday) to seven years and seven months in custody.
Kingsley, of Beadnell, Northumberland, admitted 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.
Wiltshire Police began investigating in 2019 after receiving a report that Kingsley had used the bank details of her mother’s friend to pay for a stay at Cromhall Farm near Chippenham.
Other forces then passed concurrent investigations to Wiltshire’s fraud team, including significant cases of romance fraud dating back to 2016.
Officers found that between January 2016 and January 2018, Kingsley was in a relationship with one victim and told him she was set to receive a multi million-pound inheritance. She produced forged letters from professionals as proof.
Believing he would be reimbursed once the inheritance was paid, the victim spent tens of thousands of pounds on furniture for a new home, dental bills, her debts and a wedding which never took place.
She also repeatedly used his bank cards without permission and opened a betting account in his name, losing a large amount of his money through gambling.
After that relationship ended in 2018, Kingsley began another relationship the following year. She again claimed she was about to inherit a large fortune.
The second victim paid significant deposits towards a Land Rover and a Porsche, as well as expensive hotel stays which they had no means to fund. He also accrued substantial debt due to her use of his bank cards.
In two further short relationships in the autumn of 2019, she repeatedly used the victims’ personal and company bank cards to make purchases without their knowledge.
The investigation also uncovered theft and fraud against other victims, including solicitors’ firms, lawyers and a bank, through falsified documents and letters.
Kingsley was first interviewed in May 2020, when she denied all offences and claimed she was the victim.
From January 2021, officers made repeated attempts to interview her again but were unable to trace her. She was located at a property in Bristol in August 2022 and arrested for a second time, again denying the allegations.
In March 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised charges.
Police later established that Kingsley was living in a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands. She was personally served with a summons to attend Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 18 June.
She failed to attend, claiming not to know what she had been charged with. A warrant was issued for her arrest.
On Sunday 29 June, a car she was travelling in on the Isle of Skye was stopped by Police Scotland officers after being seen speeding. She was arrested and remanded into custody.
In February, after several months of delays to court hearings, she pleaded guilty to 13 offences.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, one man said Kingsley had defrauded him out of £30,000.
“It has had a significant financial, emotional, psychological and personal impact on me which continues to be felt more than six years later,” he said.
“Kingsley’s conduct amounted to a sustained, devious and uncaring campaign to further her own interests by exploiting my trust and willingness to help others.
“Even when it was clear that her actions were causing me confusion and distress, she continued and went further still by falsely claiming to be pregnant with twins at the point when I was trying to extricate myself.
“Her behaviour extended to coercing her own children, manipulating my daughter, and causing deep concern among my family and friends.
“I was subjected to sustained deception combined with emotional manipulation, shifting explanations and repeated assurances that matters were ‘in hand’.
“The anxiety I experienced was unlike anything I had felt before, driven by the growing realisation that her behaviour would have a lifetime’s impact on me.”
DC Chris Hemns, from Wiltshire Police’s Fraud team, said: “Kingsley is a manipulative, cold-hearted individual, whose actions over several years have left multiple victims with significant emotional anxiety and long-term mental and financial struggles.
“She has continuously lied through the investigation process, denying any wrongdoing until the final moment before the trial was due to take place.
“This was an extensive investigation by our team, which involved a significant number of enquiries and I am pleased that through their determination, the investigation has come to a conclusion and Kingsley has finally been sentenced for her behaviour.
“I have no doubt that she would have continued to offend, continued to defraud others out of thousands of pounds and continued to cause significant trauma to individuals had our investigation not commenced. Even when she was served with a court summons, her first question to officers was ‘how did you find me?’.
“I would like to place on record my thanks to the victims who have unfortunately had to relive their traumatic ordeals to provide victim impact statements – thanks to them and the team of officers who worked so diligently on this case, justice has now been served.”
