A fraudster posed as a friend used dating apps and social media to trick her victims into giving her thousands for non-existent concert tickets or getting them to ‘sell’ items for her online, which the buyers never received.
Hayley McKay carried out the “systematic duping” of 10 people over four years by pretending she had Ed Sheeran tickets to sell, several iPhones, Nintendo Switches and even applied for loans in the names of some of her friends.
She met some victims through dating apps, while others thought they were her friends.
The 29-year-old saw some of her victims as “cash cows” rather than friends and played on their vulnerability, “swindling” them out of hundreds of pounds each for her “selfish and greedy gain”.
As she began a three-year jail term this week, her victims have told how what she did devastated them, affecting their mental health, including leaving one man with cystic fibrosis so stressed he ended up in hospital for two weeks.
McKay, of Elizabeth Avenue, Rolleston-on-Dove, appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Friday, June 24, to be sentenced after previously admitting 32 counts of fraud against 10 people between July 2017 and January 2021.
The court heard she sought to obtain £58,001 but actually received £22,161.
What fraudster did
The court heard that she befriended one of her victims, who had cystic fibrosis, by saying she was selling tickets to see singer Ed Sheeran, and they even met each other’s families.
McKay got the unsuspecting man to transfer £200 via a bank transfer but the tickets to see The A Team singer never materialised.
She then told the victim that she was stuck in another country and could not get back to the UK so he transferred her another £2,000 so she could get home as he was desperate for the tickets as they were a present for his girlfriend.
The money was handed over on the understanding that he would get it back from McKay’s auntie. But after waiting at her house for hours, he did not get the cash. McKay also got money from him which she used to stay at the executive suite at Alton Towers theme park, which cost £800. She also conned another £50 from him by saying she needed £50 to access her winnings of £3,000 from Paddy Power betting.
The victim used the money that he was saving for a mortgage to give to McKay and told how it had left him with a great deal of anxiety and feeling stupid for being duped, the court heard. He was also hospitalised for 14 days due to the stress her offending caused him.
A victim impact statement read on his behalf said: “I thought she cared about me which boosted by confidence but later to find she was bleeding me dry.”
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Another victim McKay had met on a dating site. She asked him to sell a phone for her using his account on auction website eBay. The phone sold for £890 with the money transferred to her, but the phone was never sent to the buyer.
On another occasion she met a man through a dating app in 2017 claiming she would not leave her property due to her anxiety and asked him to bring round a McDonald’s meal for her and leave it on the doorstep.
She also duped the same man into selling an iPhone online for her for £890 plus a £30.46 seller’s fee, telling him she needed the money before she could post the item. However, when the iPhone never materialised, the victim had to pay back the money to the buyer.
They fell out but then lhe ater agreed to sell two Nintendo Switches for her at £240 each. Again, they never materialised for the buyers.
The victim told the court via an impact statement read on his behalf: “She took advantage of my kindness. I became behind in my own payments and am incredibly anxious about money. I had suffered with my mental health.”
Another man bought an iPhone from her for £520 via Paypal but it never arrived. She told him she was unable to access the money for seven days. He tried to transfer the money again and ended up paying twice.
She also took out several loans and credit cards in other people’s name, including one friend who she contacted over Facebook asking if she wanted some restaurant vouchers.
Phillip Vollans, prosecuting, said: “She later said she needed her [the victim’s] bank account details to transfer £25 to her and also asked for her date of birth. She then had all the details needed for a loan application.”
Mr Vollans read out an impact statement from the victim which said: “She is anxious, with a panic disorder. She couldn’t barely eat or sleep. She lost between 10 and 15lbs in weight. Her family expressed concern for her weight loss and she felt shame and was embarrassed.
Her defence for her crimes
Ashad Mohammed, defending, told the court: “She knows what she has done and knows it will be jail.
“She pleaded guilty on all counts where there appeared to be evidence..
“She returned the money [back to one victim] because she felt guilty for taking his money.
“When the defendant made the applications it wasn’t the case that she applied for a particular amount, that was the amount which was offered to her.
“She didn’t receive all the money.
“The offending wasn’t well planned as she even gave her address to some of her victims.”
Mr Mohammed told the judge: “It is unfortunate I am unable to offer you a real explanation. When I asked her why she doesn’t want to talk about it. She knows what she has done; she knows she has to be punished for it.
“She has expressed regret, remorse and is ashamed.”
Judge Samantha Crabb also read out a letter she received from the defendant which said: “I am utterly disgusted at my actions. I was in a bad place and I took it out on kind people.
“It is not who I was four years ago. I am sorry to the victims.”
What the judge said
Jailing her for three years and eight weeks, the judge told McKay: “There are 32 offences of fraud, of systematic duping of 10 people over four years while you were subject to a suspended sentence for making a false representation.
“It is clear to me that this suspended sentence to did not deter you one bit. It is demonstrative to me of your total lack of remorse.
“You swindled your victims for your own selfish and greedy gain.
“You played on your victims’ vulnerabilities. [Your first victim] he was never your friend, you saw him as a ‘cash cow’.
“You caused significant emotional, physical and mental harm to your victims and a significant amount of money was lost.
“You sought to obtain £58,001.51 and you actually received £22,161.”
What the police said after the case
Sergeant Amy Martin from Staffordshire Police said after the court hearing: “Over a three and a half year period, McKay defrauded a number of innocent people out of money and items, taking advantage of their good nature and trust.
“She would tend to meet these people on a range of dating apps or on Facebook and would spend time befriending them and gaining their trust before asking for favours.
“McKay would come up with a number of excuses as to why she needed the help but these favours would normally involve selling an item for her on eBay or getting access to a PayPal account.
“When those she asked agreed to help, McKay would obtain their bank details and use them to set up accounts on betting website and for credit cards. She would also ask for money to be sent to her as she claimed to be struggling for cash.
“On one occasion, she even asked one of her victims to lie to the police on her behalf. The tactics McKay used made her victims feel like they had no other option as she would come across as genuine and friendly. She played to their good nature and left those she targeted short of thousands of pounds.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision and hope that McKay uses this time to contemplate her actions and the financial and mental impact she’s had on those she’s targeted.”
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