Gay conwoman's cancer lies

A FRAUDSTER who duped two Derbyshire women out of £63,000 by telling them she needed cash to pay for cancer treatment has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Joann Wood used gay and lesbian internet chatrooms to meet women and tell them she was terminally ill with cancer of the optic nerve. Among her victims was Cath Wheldon, of Melbourne, who said she fell in love with Wood and handed over her life savings of £53,000.

Wood told Miss Wheldon she would pay her back when she sold a holiday home. Miss Wheldon said: "My mortgage was practically paid off, but I have had to re-mortgage the cottage and I am back to full-time work as a driver. I fell in love with the woman and I trusted her."

One of Miss Wheldon's friends, from Belper, was also befriended by Wood and handed over £10,000.

CATH Wheldon had fallen in love with Joann Wood – that is why she had no hesitation in loaning her £53,000 to fund treatment for terminal eye cancer.

But it was a decision which Cath now admits she will regret for the rest of her life.

Having met each other through a gay and lesbian internet chatroom, the pair started a relationship – and Wood began to spin her a web of lies.

Wood even moved into a house next door to Cath's home in Melbourne.

"When you get close to someone and you're in love, you will do whatever you can to try to help them," said 54-year-old Cath, of Melbourne.

"She told me she needed the money until her assets were released. She said she had a villa in Lanzarote and overseas bank accounts. It seemed like a safe loan.

"She made it sound believable because that is what she is good at. It is her job.

"She had a lot of very intelligent people taken in by what she was up to.

"She made the cancer look and sound believable – she had an enlarged pupil and her eye was constantly streaming – there was no reason to doubt it.

"She said she was going to the QMC in Nottingham every day for treatment and she was always very emotional about what she was going through."

Cath first started talking to Wood through the internet chatroom Gaydargirls.com in 2005. After developing their relationship, Cath began giving cash to Wood as a loan. As their relationship developed, Cath gradually began to have nagging doubts about Wood. She had only received back £4,000 of the £53,000 she had handed over. Cath spoke to a friend of hers, who lived in Belper, and discovered she had also been conned by Wood.

Cath said: "She had also given her £10,000 for treatment. She was told not to say anything because Wood didn't want anyone getting upset. That's why we didn't know each of us had given her money."

The loss of money has had a devastating affect on Cath's life. She was semi-retired from Rolls-Royce but has since had to remortgage her house.

She now works full-time as a chauffeur.

Wood admitted six charges of fraud by false representation and two counts of possessing Class A drugs. At St Albans Crown Court yesterday, she was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

The 53-year-old, of Hertfordshire, who had a gambling problem, is believed to have conned victims right across the UK out of a total of £99,500.

During an earlier hearing, a court was told that Wood had befriended elderly people, some of whom were terminally ill, and acted as their carer.

On leaving their service, Wood, from Nottinghamshire, stole some of her patients' Class A medication to persuade other victims she was being treated for cancer.

Her scams also extended to staying in hotels and guesthouses then leaving without paying bills – and, in one case, even stealing a Land Rover.

As well as claiming she was a vet or a police officer – with ranks ranging from a detective constable to a detective chief inspector – Wood also claimed she was a nurse and used her basic first-aid skills to con her way into caring for elderly people, some of whom were dying.

Jailing Wood, Recorder Philip Brook-Smith QC said she had breached the trust of her victims.

He said: "In many cases the methodology you employed was to pretend you were suffering from an illness – cancer – and in need of money for operations and such like.

"You were happy through your greed to take that money for your own purposes."

Detectives believe there are other victims in the country who may not have come forward to the police.

Anyone who thinks they may have been conned by Wood should call police on 0345 123 3333 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.