A woman of two in the UK has narrowly avoided jail time after she duped her partner of Rs 28 lakh (25,000 pounds) after pretending to have cervical, ovarian, colon, bowel and breast cancer. The accused, identified as 35-year-old Laura McPherson, also convinced her 12-year-old daughter that she was dying, the Derby Crown Court was told.
McPherson met Jon Leonard, who ran a company that raised millions for charitable causes, in 2011, and started dating. Six years later, McPherson told him that she had terminal cancer and began funneling off money from him to seek cancer treatment.
She even told her friends and family, including her daughter who was then 12 and is now 16, about the so-called diagnosis.
According to a report in The Telegraph, McPherson staged photographs of herself appearing to have life-saving chemotherapy but spent her partner’s money on breast enhancement surgery and weight-loss treatment overseas
In 2020, she claimed to have had a hysterectomy and then booked into a private clinic for a mastectomy, only to instead have breast augmentation surgery.
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McPherson exposed
Her web of lies was exposed in December 2021 when Mr Leonard dropped her off at the Royal Derby Hospital in December 2021 for treatment on her cervix. He later discovered that she was never admitted and instead took a taxi to Coventry.
Afterward, Mr Leonard called the private clinic where McPherson seemingly had the mastectomy, only to be told she had instead received a breast augmentation surgery.
“The emotional toll this had taken on me is difficult to express in words. I was left with deep emotional scars, and don’t think I’ll ever trust people.”
Judge Jonathan Straw overseeing the case, called McPherson a “wicked and devious liar” during the hearing.
“You told those closest to you that you had been diagnosed with and were suffering from terminal forms of cancer,” he said.
“It is difficult to imagine how an individual could be so calculating and cruel to those that loved and cared for her.”
McPherson pleaded guilty at a previous hearing with Judge Straw handing her a community order, a curfew and 30 days with a probation officer. If she fails to meet the requirements, she risks jail time. McPherson also has to wear an electronic tag and observe a 7 pm to 6 am local time curfew between Wednesdays and Sundays.