A MUM-OF-TWO faked having terminal cancer to con her distraught partner into giving her thousands of pounds for non-existent treatment.
Laura McPherson fabricated stories and sent fake photos at multiple hospital and specialist visits as she swindled nearly £25,000 from Jon Leonard.
7
7
7
But instead of undergoing chemotherapy, she was actually splashing out on breast enhancement procedures and trips abroad, including a stay at an Austrian holistic and weight loss centre.
McPherson not only lied to Mr Leonard but also to her friends and even her own family including her distraught 12-year-old daughter, who is now 16.
Over a five-year period, McPherson claimed she had breast, bowel, colon, ovarian and cervical cancer, and was having treatment both on the NHS and privately.
During her deceit, she also claimed she would need a breast removed and that her cancer was terminal, Derby Crown Court heard.
Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Jonathan Straw, called McPherson a “wicked and devious liar” as he heard she had never had any kind of cancer.
McPherson, from Derby, had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to fraud between March 1, 2017, and January 31, 2022.
The court heard that among those McPherson had lied to about having cancer was her best friend called Katie.
And when Katie’s father genuinely had the disease – but chose not to go through with the pain of chemotherapy – McPherson called his attitude “disgusting”.
Meanwhile McPherson’s sympathetic friends and family bought her scores of flowers, gifts and cards.
When she claimed she had received the all-clear from one type of cancer in 2018, she persuaded Mr Leonard to buy her a celebratory present of a £30,000 Rolex watch.
McPherson and Mr Leonard began their relationship in 2011 and for several years it was a happy one.
But in 2017 she began hoodwinking him when she said she was having chemotherapy in a Derby hospital.
Mr Leonard was running his Ultra Events business, which was ironically raising millions of pounds for cancer charities.
McPherson, 35, claimed on a number of occasions that she was travelling abroad for treatment.
7
7
In one of her cruellest lies she said she was having a hysterectomy at the private Mayr clinic in Austria leading Mr Leonard to give her money to pay for it.
But in reality, she was enjoying a holiday of holistic wellbeing and weight loss therapy.
While claiming to be sick from cancer, McPherson was supposed to be working for Mr Leonard’s company.
He continued to pay her salary even though she didn’t do anything because it was believed she was too ill.
You are a wicked and devious liar who embarked on five years of deceit.
Mr Jonathan Straw
To cover her tracks, McPherson never allowed Mr Leonard or her friends to accompany her when she was pretending to have hospital appointments.
On New Year’s Eve 2021 she made Mr Leonard drop her off at the Royal Derby hospital for supposed cancer treatment, but she was never admitted.
Prosecuting Mr Siward James-Moore said on that occasion Mr Leonard’s suspicions began to be aroused when he checked McPherson’s work emails.
He found she had actually ordered a taxi from the hospital to Coventry from where she boarded a train.
Mr Leonard said McPherson became abusive towards him most days, but he said he accepted it because he believed it was caused by the stress she must have been feeling because of her terminal illness.
McPherson’s deceit finally came to light when told Mr Leonard she needed over £7,000 for a mastectomy and breast enhancement at a Manchester private clinic.
When Leonard contacted the surgeon to pay the bill, it turned out her “treatment” was in reality just for the breast enhancement.
The couple separated three years ago after which Mr Leonard allowed McPherson to stay in his home as he moved out and let her keep a car he had bought her.
But McPherson continued to maintain the pretence that she had cancer.
She was to eventually drop it when she pleaded guilty in court last September.
The emotional toll this had taken on me is difficult to express in words.
Jon Leonard
Mr Leonard, 44, said he has struggled professionally with his business and with forming new relationships as a result of McPherson’s actions.
McPherson, despite her claims of having had a hysterectomy, had another child last year and now runs a coffee shop,
The prosecutor said McPherson’s GP had confirmed she has never had any cancer.
The judge ordered McPherson to be electronically tagged as he imposed a curfew on her to stay at her home from 7pm to 6am every Wednesday to Sunday.
He imposed a community order for two years and ordered McPherson to complete 30 days with a probation officer.
He said if she breached her terms she would receive an immediate two and a half year prison sentence.
7
7
