A fraudster who conned a 73-year-old pensioner out of her life savings through fake stories has been jailed.
Nadia Hussain was handed a two-year prison sentence at Preston Crown Court last week after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
She scammed Ann Graham out of £4,500 by making up stories about needing to escape an abusive husband, needing money for an abortion, and paying for cancer treatment.
Her elderly victim never saw justice served, having died in December 2023.
Hussain made initial contact with Mrs Graham in August that year by offering to carry her shopping home.
She returned to the pensioner's address that same evening with a lie.
Hussain claimed her husband had beaten her and she urgently needed somewhere to stay with her children.
Mrs Graham gave her £35 to cover a bed and breakfast.
This first payment marked the beginning of a nine-week campaign of deception targeting the elderly woman's generosity.
Nadia Hussain scammed Ann Graham out of £4,500 - her entire life savings
|LANCASHIRE POLICE
Over the next nine weeks, Hussain kept returning with fresh frauds designed to exploit the pensioner's kindness.
She requested money and took Mrs Graham's bank card, claiming her children needed food and she needed medical care.
Between September 22 and October 17, 2023, Hussain made withdrawals totalling more than £3,600 from the victim's savings account.
Mrs Graham also handed over an additional £1,000 in cash during this period.
The fraud stripped the elderly woman of her entire life savings.
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The scam came to light when Mrs Graham's bank noticed suspicious activity and contacted the police.
Detectives pieced together the fraud using CCTV footage, banking records and mobile phone evidence to disprove Hussain's claims.
Mrs Graham died in December 2023 before the case reached its conclusion.
Her family stated in a victim impact statement that the ordeal had deeply affected her.
Hussain was handed a two-year prison sentence at Preston Crown Court last week
|PA
They believed the fraud contributed to her death, a view the sentencing judge shared.
PC Halleron-Place said: "Ann Graham was a kind-hearted lady who was trying to do the right thing for a person she believed really needed help.
"She was befriended and taken advantage of in the most callous way.
"I welcome this custodial sentence, and I hope it gives Mrs Graham's family some sense that justice has been done."
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