A 'RUTHLESS' conwoman who pretended to be a barrister, a Wonderbra model, a wealthy heiress, a dying cancer victim and even Heston Blumenthal's design guru has been jailed for an 'extraordinary' catalogue of frauds.

Ryley Cruz, 37, who also used the name Tanya Rowe, netted more than £61,000 from her victims - over half of it from a property developer who lavished cash on her after she contacted him through the 'Sugar Daddies' website, a court heard.

She told wealthy Steven Wood, 54, she was a successful barrister awaiting a £150,000 inheritance but that she had short term cashflow problems. Within days he had rented a plush five bedroom Regency house in Cheltenham for her and her teenaged son to live in.

Whenever she asked him for money he would put it straight into her account and was left £34,000 worse off after knowing her for just a few weeks.

Often when Cruz's many victims started to chase her for money she would pretend she had suddenly been stricken by cancer, the court was told.

On another occasion she posed as a wealthy heiress with a £30m fortune and entered into negotiations to buy a half share of Premiership rugby club Gloucester Her victims included property landlords, a woman pub owner, a Cotswolds cafe proprietor, a waitress who lost her £5,000 savings to Cruz, and big companies including top estate agents Hamptons International and Savills and a wealth management firm in Cheltenham.

Cruz, of Clarence Parade, Cheltenham, was jailed for a total of five years three months by Judge Jamie Tabor QC after she admitted fourteen charges of fraud, one of posing as a barrister, and two of possessing forged documents for the use of fraud.

She denied fraud against Mr Wood and claimed he had paid her for sex - but the jury did not believe her and found her guilty.

The court heard that her web of deceit stretched to Bourton on the Water, where she leased a cottage from Gillian Beadman but after paying a deposit and first month's rent she defaulted on the rent.

While living there she befriended Denise Jeffreys-Jones, a pub landlady, telling her she was a barrister. She claimed to have cashflow problems and borrowed £1,500 from Mrs Jeffreys-Jones - then twice gave her cheques in repayment which bounced.

"When Mrs Jeffreys-Jones began to press her for the debt she said she was in hospital having chemotherapy. It was a cynical and cruel smokescreen to keep this lady off her back," the prosecutor said.

Cruz also befriended Matthew Matheou, owner of the Green and Pleasant Tea Rooms in Bourton. She told him she was a single mum running away from an abusive relationship and, in tears, she claimed that her £60,000 savings had been mislaid by her bank.

"Mr Matheou was well and truly suckered," said Mr Fenny. "He offered £200 to tide her over but she said she needed £1,500 so he gave her that over the next two days."

Mr Fenny said Mr Matheou even provided free food for Cruz and her son because he felt so sorry for them.

Judge Tabor told Cruz: "You are a practiced fraudster. You are quite unconcerned about the effects on your victims.

"When your victims became suspicious, you fled. And when pursued you would play the ace in your pack - you said you had cancer.

"Naturally, your victims then held back. You have shown not one ounce of remorse or regret for any of your offences. The word sorry has not been uttered by you once.

"You have shown callousness and selfishness. You are, even by the standards of the criminal courts, exceptionally devious. You played the cancer card at will and you have conned a leading hospital in this country."

At the end of the hearing Judge Tabor made an order under the Proceeds of Crime Act that Cruz had benefited by £61,053 from her offences - but has only a nominal £1 available for confiscation.

He praised Det Con Abi Enright of Thames Valley Police for her two and a half year investigation into Cruz's activties in Berkshire and Pc Jenna Pendle of Gloucestershire police and said he would commend them to their chief constables for unravelling Cruz's complex web of deceit and bringing her to justice.

  • Were you one of Cruz's victims? Call 01285 627319 to speak to a reporter.