The British lady on the centre of a Netflix documentary on how she allegedly duped her son and left him in debt to fund her champagne-sipping life-style has been charged with fraud in Singapore.
Alleged victims of Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, filed police stories after watching Con Mum, native media report.
They accuse the Singapore resident of taking their cash with the promise that they might be reimbursed by way of her inheritance from Brunei’s royal household.
The ploy is just like the one she allegedly used towards London pastry chef Graham Hornigold, after she contacted him in 2020, claiming to be his long-lost mom.
A DNA take a look at later proved that Ms Hanna was certainly Mr Hornigold’s mom.
Ms Hanna, who was charged with 5 counts of fraud, appeared earlier than a district court docket on Saturday by way of video hyperlink. She was seen mendacity on a hospital mattress, accompanied by an investigating officer, Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia reported.
She is accused of deceiving three males in Singapore and France into transferring cash to her accounts, claiming the funds have been wanted as authorized charges and for the opening of latest financial institution accounts.
Ms Hanna sought their sympathy by saying she was terminally in poor health and vouched to reimburse them by way of inheritance, claiming that she is a part of the Brunei royal household. Her son questions these claims within the documentary.
In trade for his or her cash, she additionally made guarantees to donate thousands and thousands of {dollars} to a mosque and a Muslim non-profit organisation in Singapore, the court docket heard.
It’s unclear how a lot cash her alleged victims misplaced, however Singapore police mentioned preliminary investigations present she is concerned in no less than 5 instances of dishonest with losses amounting to greater than S$200,000 ($149,000; £115,400).
If convicted, Ms Hanna faces as much as 20 years in jail and a tremendous.
Con Mum, which was launched on Netflix on 25 March, follows Mr Hornigold’s reunion with Ms Hanna within the UK in the course of the pandemic.
She introduced herself as a rich, illegitimate daughter of the sultan of Brunei, initially showering Mr Hornigold, his then-partner Heather Kaniuk and his pals with lavish items, from automobiles to houses.
Although initially sceptical, Mr Hornigold, who has labored in Michelin-starred eating places and based Longboys Doughnuts, rapidly developed a detailed relationship along with his mom.
Over time nevertheless, Ms Hanna started to go away Mr Hornigold and his pals to foot her escalating payments – Mr Hornigold mentioned within the movie that he misplaced £300,000 – whereas she disappeared.
The movie means that Ms Hanna had beforehand been convicted within the UK for shoplifting and fraud.