A woman who featured in a Netflix documentary after scamming her son to fund a lavish lifestyle has been charged with fraud in Malaysia.
Con Mum follows Graham, who received an unexpected email from a woman named Dionne Marie Hanan, 84, who claimed to be his mother in 2020. They decided to meet up and she later duped Graham – who DNA results showed is truly her son – out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Over the weekend the alleged fraudster appeared in court via video link accused of five counts of fraud involving three people from Singapore and France.
Her alleged victims are said to have filed reports after watching the Netflix show. She is said to have claimed she was terminally ill and part of the Brunei royal family, BBC reported.
It is claimed she told the three victims she needed the money as legal fees and to open bank account. Singapore police say investigations proved she is involved in at least five cases of cheating with losses amounting to more than S$200,000 (£115,400) and, if found guilty, faces 20 years in prison.
Con Mum showed Dionne had lived a lavish lifestyle, attributing it to her business ventures. She also claimed to be the illegitimate offspring of the former Sultan of Brunei. Her son was treated to opulent hotels, luxury cars and presents by his mum.
She persuaded him to spend weeks in Switzerland to sign paperwork which would allow him to inherit her wealth. Dionne requested Graham transferred monthly payments to her and established credit cards in his name, which she assured would be reimbursed. However, it never was.
Graham’s partner Heather took it upon herself to do some investigations and uncovered Dionne had used several aliases over the years and had been married three times. Each marriage certificate displayed a different name, birth date, and father’s name.
Dionne had previous convictions for shoplifting and obtaining property by deception. In 1982, she served a sentence for fraud, specifically for dishonestly acquiring cash and jewellery.
Graham later found out that her terminal illness was a lie when he realised that none of her medications were related to cancer treatment.
Following Graham’s discovery, he took the information to the police. Yet, he was told an elderly woman in her 80s, bound to a wheelchair and claiming to be the victim’s mother, didn’t fit the usual profile of a con artist.
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